


Dare

by Anonymous



Series: Games [1]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: F/M, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-19
Updated: 2017-07-23
Packaged: 2018-12-04 09:56:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 32,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11552754
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Stiles and Scott sign themselves up for a nationwide game of Dare, in an effort to earn money and notoriety. But will it really be as innocent as they've led themselves to believe?





	1. Sign-Ups

_Do you observe, or do you DARE?_

Stiles stared at his computer screen, biting at the nail on his index finger. He probably wasn’t even supposed to have the link to the website, but he did have it, and he was going to sign up. He just wasn’t sure which way he wanted to go. He sighed and sat back in his chair, turning from one side to another idly. He only had one real plan in life, and he had come up with it when he was eight. He knew it was ridiculous, but he was stubborn. He was going to get Lydia Martin to notice him, and then he was going to marry her. Along the way, he would go to college and start his career, but everything else was secondary. _Lydia Martin_ was his plan. It was too bad really that she didn’t notice him. At all. But part of that - okay, most of it - was his fault. The biggest flaw in his plan to marry Lydia Martin was that he hadn’t even so much as had a conversation with her. It would also probably help his cause if he stopped first-name last-naming her; but he saw it as a sign of respect, not necessarily weirdness, which he knew he had in abundance. 

“Do I dare?” He squinted at the computer screen, sighing when it didn’t give him an answer. He had heard a couple of classmates talking about it in his homeroom, and that had piqued his interest, but one of the rules of the site was to not get cops involved and that was a problem, his dad being the Sheriff. Just by association, Stiles hadn’t been invited to many parties. Everyone assumed he was a snitch. If he signed up for dares, anyone with a vendetta might give him something dangerous to do, and he wasn’t sure what happened if he refused. He glanced up when there was a knock on the door, leaning back carefully to block the screen in case the person in the hallway was his dad. “Come in!” He sighed in relief when the door opened and his best friend walked in. “Hey, Scott.” 

“What are you doing?” Scott tilted his head and gave the computer a curious look when Stiles moved out of the way to show him the website. “I heard about that.” He sat down on Stiles’ bed. “Malia Tate got suspended for walking around school naked, but they gave her five thousand dollars for completing her dare.” 

Stiles snorted. “What do you think she spent it on? I’d just keep mine for Jeep repairs.” His Jeep needed a lot of work, but it had been his mother’s and he refused to get something more reliable. His mom hadn’t been the most reliable person and he hadn’t wanted to get rid of her, either. The universe had proven to have a different plan. 

“She didn’t use it to buy more clothes, I know that.” Scott laughed. “I’d give the money to my mom, for bills and stuff. If I was stupid enough to sign up. Which I’m not. And neither are you. So close that and let’s go practice lacrosse. I really think I’m getting good enough for first line.” 

“Yeah, at the hospital emergency room.” Stiles protested. “Your life goal is about as realistic as mine, you know? I’ll marry Lydia Martin the day you make first line.” He laughed when Scott threw a pillow at him and knocked him backward against his computer desk. He froze when he heard a series of beeps, turning around slowly to see that his flailing had, once again, gotten him into trouble. His facebook and twitter accounts granted access without him clicking anything, and he yelled in protest, but it was too late. The website changed, and he could only stare at the message in front of him.

_Welcome to the game, Stiles! Your first dare will be texted to you at midnight._

_Don’t forget the rules of the game:_  
1\. Don’t get the police involved.  
2\. All dares must be recorded and uploaded or done live, to be complete.  
3\. Refusal to complete a dare means you’re out. 

“Oh my god!” Stiles kicked backward with his computer chair, getting to his feet. “Scott! You made me sign up as a participant! All I want out of life is to finish high school and die, not the other way around!” He blurted. “Which I’m now realizing doesn’t work because I don’t think zombies can go to high school, but whatever. They’re going to dare me to do something and I’m going to have to refuse because you and I both know I’m a coward and then everyone is going to know that I’m the guy who didn’t even do one simple dare.” 

Scott watched Stiles, smiling patiently at him. “Or you could actually do your dares, you know? I mean, okay. Probably not walking around school naked. Not that you would even let that bother you that much. You’re only afraid to do the things that you actually want to do, which is pretty backwards, isn’t it? I think you’re going to be okay. And I’ll help, if I can.”

“You could sign up, too.” Stiles looked hopeful. “Come on. Sign up. The money is good, right? We could both use more. For our respective parents. And if they tell you to do anything that could potentially kill you, I don’t care what their rules are. I’m telling my dad. Let’s go, buddy. Get over here.”

Scott sighed, but he got up from the bed and sat down in front of the computer. “Where do I log-out of your page? I don’t see that on here.” 

Stiles shrugged. “Maybe you have to do it on your own computer. Let’s go over to your house. I’ve got just under an hour now, to figure out what they’re going to throw at me. All of the dares come from the observers. I figured I was going to do that, but you just had to go and throw a pillow at me. Maybe you should sign up as an observer, instead. Maybe you can influence my dares or something.” 

“Maybe.” Scott said softly as he followed Stiles down the hall and down a flight of stairs, to the front door. “But no, I’m not doing that. I sit on the sidelines all the freaking time, and not just in lacrosse. I want to be able to do something for once. My mom won’t like it if I get suspended, but... I don’t see how they could dare us to do anything worse than something like what Malia had to do. I think the dares have to at least be kind of legal, right? Not like we could be dared to commit murder?” 

Stiles opened the door to his Jeep and got in, starting it as he waited for Scott to get in the passenger side. “Like I said, if they dare you to do something that could potentially kill you, and that includes the electric chair, I’ll just tell my dad. We’re in this together, just as soon as you’re signed up.” He started the drive across town to Scott’s house. “They’re probably going to dare me to steal something. Like I never have. I mean, the starting dares, from what I’ve overheard, are easy stuff. And everything takes place over a six-month period. Sign-ups are over at midnight, tonight. This is one hell of a birthday. If I make it to June, I might sign up again in July. I’m not sure how to explain my extra money to my dad, but I’ll worry about that when I have some _to_ worry about.” 

“I kind of hope my first dare is lame.” Scott smiled over at Stiles. “Like having to answer a question in class or something else. Mundane things.” 

“This from the guy who insists that nothing ever happens in this town?” Stiles laughed. “You finally get to be Spider-Man and you would rather be Doug Funnie.” 

“Because you’re Skeeter Valentine?” Scott scoffed. “I think you have that backwards.” 

“So I’m not your weird friend that could somehow get his foot stuck in his pocket?” Stiles glanced over at Scott. “Do I have to prove you wrong on this?” 

“You would, wouldn’t you?” Scott grinned. “It doesn’t matter, you’re the one with the unrequited crush on someone much cooler than you are.” 

“Yeah, well, popularity is a social construct.” Stiles muttered. “And when Lydia Martin and I have both graduated, it won’t matter anymore.” 

“I think it’ll matter to Jackson.” Scott teased. “But seriously, it’s about damned time she noticed you, I think. Jackson’s a dick. Lydia can do better.” 

“Yeah, she can do me.” Stiles grinned. “And when I have like, a billion dollars for completing dares for six months and being the only person left in this cycle, then she’ll have to notice me.” He glanced over at Scott and decided that the beautiful thing about their friendship was the fact that they could say the hopeful things that they both knew were bullshit, and they wouldn’t call each other on it. He parked in Scott’s driveway a few minutes later and got out of the Jeep, using his own key for the McCalls’ house to go in. 

“When did you make that?” Scott demanded, but he wasn’t angry. Stiles did this kind of thing all the time, and his good qualities still outweighed the bad ones, so he was still Scott’s best friend. His mom warned him a lot that there was a line that shouldn’t be crossed, and that Stiles liked to stand with one foot planted on either side of it. 

“Last month, when I borrowed your keys from your bag while you were in the nurse’s office.” Stiles smiled. “I didn’t have your second inhaler because you needed it and never gave it back to me, so I made the key in case we’re in your yard and you have an asthma attack, so I can get into the house myself. I probably won’t need it, since I also got another backup inhaler for you.” Even though midnight was hours away, Stiles couldn’t resist looking at his watch while Scott closed and locked the front door. He followed Scott up the stairs to his bedroom, flopping down on his friend’s bed. “I wonder how many people are going to be signed up for this. I’m pretty sure it’s at least restricted to this country, so it’s not like there’s going to be an international competition or something, right?” He yawned. “Are you cool with me crashing out for a couple of hours?” 

“Lacrosse practice!” Scott called over his shoulder, going to the game website. 

Stiles groaned and got to his feet. “Fine, I’ll go make coffee.” He muttered, trudging back down the stairs. He ran a hand over his hair and shook his head a little. He wasn’t even tired, he had just spent so much time sleeping over at Scott’s that his best friend’s bedroom had given him an almost Pavlovian reaction to just being there. Stiles’ own bedroom was where he did most of his thinking, and he had trouble sleeping there. At least if he stayed busy doing something, he wouldn't be driving himself insane as he waited for midnight.


	2. The First Three Dares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi, observers! I just wanted to let you know that there's already been some not-so-subtle Scott bashing in the comments and I don't tolerate that sort of thing. I'm not sure why anyone would see 'Scott McCall' in the tags, knowing they don't like him, and decide it's a great idea to read a fic about him. 
> 
> To be blunt, I don't agree with every decision Scott has made in canon. But I don't agree with every decision I've ever made in my entire life, either. The difference is, of course, that I'm an actual person and Scott is a work of fiction. What you're essentially insulting is ink on paper, but you're also insulting Tyler Posey. There's no place for that here.

At midnight, Stiles woke up to ringtones that sounded like a call to arms, and he sat up and shook Scott’s shoulder. “Scott, wake up. It’s midnight. Our first dares are in.” He rubbed his eyes as he waited for them to adjust to the bright light from his phone, so that he could read what he had to do. 

_Sing a Disney song from start to finish, in a public place with a lot of people around, for fifty dollars._

Stiles laughed and got up from the bed, pulling his jeans on over his underwear. “They either don’t know me at all, or they know me too well.” He remarked. “What did you get? What do you have to do?” 

Scott groaned. “How do you go from exhausted to wide awake in two seconds?” He stumbled as he got up, going into the bathroom to pee and try to make sense of what was going on. 

“Well, I don’t always.” Stiles shrugged. “I’m checking your phone.” He looked at Scott’s text, then back down at his own phone, comparing the messages. “They gave us the same thing. We have to sing a Disney song in a crowded place, and we’ve got ninety minutes to do it. That’s plenty of time. Do you think it counts if we do it together? Because it says ‘start to finish,’ but if we end up singing something and taking turns, then does that count? I mean, Disney has a lot of duets and buddy songs, so we could do that, right?” 

“It can’t hurt to try.” Scott washed his hands and picked up his clothes from the pile on the floor, pulling them back on. “Does this mean that all of our dares are going to be the same thing, though? Because that’s okay, it’s just that it’s not very creative. And Malia did almost all of her dares by herself.” 

“Well, they probably figured out that you and I don’t really have any other friends, and that we’re kind of codependent?” Stiles guessed. “The most crowded places are the hospital and the station, this time of night. But since we’re not supposed to get cops involved and my dad will definitely ask us what the fuck we’re doing, we’ll just go do it at the hospital. You’re good with that, right?” 

“Oh, sure. I’ll just be grounded for a month and my mom will drug test me for the rest of my life. No big deal.” Scott shook his head. “I can’t believe I let you talk me into this. I should just back out right now.” He sat down on his bed, frowning. “This is what I’m talking about. You’re fine doing things that you shouldn’t do, Stiles. But when it comes to stuff that’s actually okay, like asking Lydia out, you won’t even fucking try.” 

“Okay, I’m going to pretend that your bad mood is because I woke you up from a dream that you were winning a lacrosse game all by yourself, yeah?” Stiles remarked. “Just come with me and let’s do this. It won’t be that bad. If your mom tries to drug test you, I’ll refuse to make the brownies she likes.” He paused. “This is one of those conversations that sounds bad to people who don’t know us. I guess we have a lot of those? Harley was bitching about it a couple of weeks ago.” He shoved his phone into his pocket and went downstairs, expecting Scott to follow him, like usual. 

Scott didn’t disappoint Stiles, climbing into the passenger seat of the Jeep, like he had hours earlier. “What song are we doing?” He sighed, fastening his seatbelt. “Because I don’t want to sing a romantic duet. People already think we’re a couple. That’s also according to Harley.” 

Stiles grinned. “I have the perfect song.” He scrolled through music on his iTunes playlist. “Just don’t criticize me for liking Disney songs.” He hit play, turning the volume on his phone and singing along when the lyrics began. “Let’s get down to business.” He smiled when Scott started laughing, pausing the song. “I hope to god you know all of the lyrics.” 

“Dude, we’ve watched this five thousand times in the past decade.” Scott shook his head, smiling fondly. “Hell yes, I know all of the words.” He sighed in relief as Stiles drove toward the hospital, downtown. They parked on the first floor of the garage and walked into the hospital. He was relieved to see that his mom was making rounds and might not witness what he and Stiles were about to do. 

Stiles turned on the video camera on his phone and started recording, turning around in a circle to show how crowded the emergency room was on a Saturday night in Beacon Hills - which was to say, not very. But it was a public place and there were witnesses to his and Scott’s impending humiliation... if it could even be called that. For him, anyway. He handed his phone to Scott, then took Scott’s phone in exchange and got it recording, too. “Are you ready to do this?” 

“Not even close.” Scott muttered, but he nodded. “Do you want to start?” 

“Um, I think we should both do it.” Stiles said gently. “Because like I said, I don’t know what they’ll count as actually being start to finish, and I don’t want to risk being eliminated after one dare. If you don’t want to do it, just say so. I won’t be mad. Maybe you can switch to being an observer or something, instead? It’s just that you said you were tired of being on the sidelines. You can’t back out over a Disney song, you know? It’s not that big of a deal. You’re just making it one.” 

“What are you two doing here?” Melissa demanded, eyeing both boys warily. She always thought she had seen it all, with them and their antics, but then they would do something else that pushed her limits just a little bit more. She wasn’t exactly surprised when, instead of answering her question, Stiles started singing. 

“Let’s get down to business.” Stiles nudged Scott, who grimaced, but joined in with him. 

“To defeat the Huns. Did they send me daughters when I asked for sons?” Scott kept singing as he moved Stiles’ phone to show that they had definitely drawn attention to themselves from people who were injured or sick and didn’t _need_ this sort of thing. He had tried to explain that to Stiles, but he knew he hadn’t quite gotten the words across. Stiles always had been better at that sort of thing anyway, which was why Scott didn’t understand how it could be difficult to just go up to Lydia and tell her he liked her. True, she was dating someone else, but Scott wasn’t insisting that Stiles tie Lydia to some train tracks like villains did in silent movies, he just thought that if Lydia was as intelligent as Stiles always said she was, then she deserved to make a more informed decision about who she was willing to go out with. 

“You’re the saddest bunch I’ve ever met, but you can bet before we’re through, Mister I’ll make a man out of you.” Stiles laughed when one of the nurses - not Melissa McCall - started singing along with them as they continued with the song, and then more people joined in. He thought that this sort of thing only happened in movies, but now he would have it forever, to watch again later if he wanted to. He bowed when he was done singing, laughing again as he stopped recording and uploaded the video through the app that he had downloaded, earlier that night. He realized belatedly that he had been holding Scott’s phone, so he held it out to him and reached out with his other hand for his own. 

“One second.” Scott finished uploading the video from Stiles’ phone, then traded with him. “Thanks. That was actually kind of awesome. I’m still freaked out about the idea of one day having to walk around naked in school, but I’m not doing that. I’ll just have to stop playing if someone dares me to do that.” 

“I don’t know that they’ll make you do that. It would be kind of redundant if they kept recycling dares.” Stiles mused. Both of their phones beeped on the way out to the garage, and he lifted his to see what the alert was. “I’m guessing you got cleared, too. Fifty dollars for each of us.” He smiled. “That’s barely enough for Jeep repairs, but it’s at least a few tanks of gas.” 

“Um. Where do you think the money comes from?” Scott wished he had thought to ask earlier, but it looked like this was just one more scheme that Stiles had managed to drag him into. “Do you think this game is run by the Mafia?” 

Stiles laughed as he started the Jeep. “I’m pretty sure the Mafia has more important shit to do than finance a game for a bunch of people willing to humiliate themselves for money.” He glanced at Scott, sighing when he realized his attitude wasn’t reassuring his friend. “Look, the money comes from the observers. They make the dares and put money on them, for each person playing. It’s kind of like The Hunger Games, but without death. Observers are the sponsors. If we’re willing to do what they want for the money they offer, we get paid. The more observers you have watching you, the more money you might get. Like...” He opened the app. “Right now, there are thousands of people playing and at least three times as many observers.” He showed the displayed totals to Scott. “So when some players don’t make it to the next round of dares, the observers could quit watching, or they could just watch someone else.” 

“You barely knew anything about this game when you signed up, right?” Scott looked doubtful. “How do you know so much about it now?” 

“When you were doing your make-up homework, I was doing research.” Stiles grinned. “That’s how. We won’t get another dare until everyone else has either completed theirs, or time has run out. Want to go get something to eat?” 

“God, yes please.” Scott yawned. “Or maybe we should just go back to my house and sleep.” He gave Stiles what he assumed was a hopeful smile, since he was too tired to put much effort into it. 

“Nope. We just got money, I’m celebrating. I want curly fries and a peanut butter milkshake.” Stiles laughed. 

“And a heart attack before you’re twenty.” Scott grabbed Stiles’ phone. “Drive.” He commanded. “I want to listen to that song again. It’s stuck in my head, anyway.” He sat up, feeling more wide awake as he and Stiles started singing the song from Mulan once more. 

When they got to the diner, Stiles thought the song was never going to get out of his head, and he was pretty sure he was hearing it everywhere. But the booth in front of theirs was occupied by a brunette girl, about their age, who was humming the song. Stiles kicked Scott’s foot and nodded toward her, just as she looked up and smiled. 

“Oh, hey!” The girl looked around and stood up. “Um, could I sit with you guys? There’s this truck driver that was making me uncomfortable. I think he just went to the bathroom.” 

“What’s your name?” Stiles asked as Scott moved over to let the brunette sit beside him. 

“Hmm? Oh, I’m Allison.” She sat down and looked over at Scott. “I saw your video.” 

“How?” Stiles waved a hand to get Allison’s attention when it became clear that she was too focused on Scott to realize that Stiles was talking to her. “We literally just uploaded those about fifteen minutes ago.” 

“Oh, I have alerts set up.” Allison explained, tucking her hair behind her ear. “So that if anyone in this town uploads a video, I’ll know about it. I know that as people get eliminated, the dares get harder and there’s more money involved. I just want to know who my competition is. I mean, it’s not really... I guess we’re just competing against ourselves, to be technical?” 

Stiles glanced down at his phone, studying the app. “Where is that at, for alerts?” He glanced up again, blinking at the sight of Allison kissing Scott. “Okay then.” He muttered, shaking his head as he got up from the booth. His phone started playing the same tone as it had at midnight, but Scott’s phone stayed silent. 

_Sit down with someone else for twenty-five dollars._

Stiles glanced around, wondering who was watching him. He thought that the amount of money was supposed to increase, but this wasn’t exactly a difficult task. The timer was already counting down from sixty seconds, so he dropped into the empty side of the closest booth that someone else was sitting in and took a selfie to prove he was there, uploading the image. “Sorry, I just need to rest my legs for a minute.” He murmured. “Wait, Derek?” 

Derek Hale stared blankly back at Stiles. “Do I know you?” 

“Um, no? I mean, probably not. My dad was a deputy when your house caught on fire, and that is the _worst_ way for me to introduce myself, I am so sorry.” Stiles stammered. “I’m Stiles. Stilinski.” He hesitated, then held his hand out across the table. “The last time I saw you, I was ten.” 

“So was Cora.” Derek didn’t reach for Stiles’ hand. “She’s one of the family members I don’t have anymore.” 

“Yeah.” Stiles murmured, lowering his hand back to the table. “What brings you back here? I mean, if you want to tell me. You don’t have to tell me.” He heard a familiar ringtone going off twice behind him, but he didn’t turn around. He gave Derek a curious look when the older man glanced down toward his phone, though. “Hey, you’re playing!” He blurted. 

Derek glared at him. “Yeah, so?” 

“So...” Stiles drew the word out, then shrugged. “So you’re playing and maybe we can work together? Scott and I had to do the same dare as our first one, so we worked together. And Allison is playing, too.” He gestured toward the booth he had been sitting in. He faltered when Derek’s scowl only deepened. “Or maybe not. Okay, but... maybe if you need help with something, you can call me? I could help, at least.” 

Derek’s phone beeped and he looked down at it, then sighed. “Okay, give me your phone number.” 

“Was that your dare?” Stiles smiled as he held his phone out for Derek to take. “Just program your number into my phone and then send yourself a text with it. I’ll save it.” He glanced up as Scott and Allison approached. “What do you have to do next?” He asked Scott. 

“My second dare is to go to that creepy old house in the woods.” Scott frowned. “And I have to do a live broadcast of being there for an hour. You know, the one that used to belong to the Hales? Why are you gesturing?” 

Stiles groaned. “Because you’re an idiot? This is Derek Hale.” He pointed across the table. “And it looks like, like it or not, the four of us might be spending time together tonight? What’d you get?” He asked Allison. 

“Well, my _first_ dare was to kiss someone.” Allison glanced at Scott and smiled, then looked back at Stiles. “But my second one is to go with you.” She held her phone up to show the text message to Stiles. “So I have a feeling that your next dare won’t be to go with Scott.” 

“But I’m on my third dare, whenever they give it to me.” Stiles looked uncertain. “You know what, we’ll just drive around for awhile, I guess. Until you get your third and then mine will probably come along with it.” He looked at Scott. “Is that okay with you?” 

Derek’s phone beeped again as he set Stiles’ phone down and slid it across the table. He glanced at the screen. “It doesn’t matter if he’s okay with it or not, my third dare is to drive him out there.” 

“What was your first dare, then?” Stiles regretted asking as soon as the words left his mouth, because Derek just looked even more pissed off than he had before. 

Derek turned toward Scott. “Let’s get going.” He got up from the booth and walked outside. 

“He’s grouchy.” Allison remarked, once Derek and Scott were both outside. “Did you want to leave now? I have to complete my dare in twenty minutes, but as long as we get going, it doesn’t matter, I guess.” 

Stiles waved the waitress over and asked for to-go boxes for his food and Scott’s, since it hadn’t even arrived yet. “Derek has reason to be grouchy.” He said softly. “But I’m not telling you about that, because it’s not my place. Do you actually like Scott, or are you messing with him for this game?” 

“I wouldn’t do that.” Allison protested. “I mean, the dare wasn’t to kiss him, it was to kiss someone in the diner. I could have kissed you. Or Derek. Even though I’m pretty sure he would have punched me if I tried.” 

“What about that truck driver that was bothering you?” Stiles asked, smiling when Allison faltered. “I knew it. You lied.” 

“I needed an excuse to sit with you guys, and I didn’t think it would get me anywhere if I said I had to kiss someone for a dare game that we’re all supposed to shut up about. I mean, I knew I’d be okay because I saw you both playing it, but it’s also possible that you were going to be really quiet about it, and maybe if I mentioned it, you would have refused? And then I would have had to kiss Derek.” Allison shook her head. “But anyway, Scott is cute. Don’t you think so?” 

“I think he’s more like a brother to me than anything else.” Stiles laughed dryly. “And I think you already noticed that I might, maybe, have an attraction to guys. But definitely not that guy. Jury’s still out on other guys. Scott likes girls, and that’s where that stops. Congratulations, by the way. You were his first kiss.” 

“Really?” Allison laughed. “That’s sweet. I might have kissed him because of the dare, but I like him. I’m going to be in school with you guys on Monday. Tomorrow.” She blinked. “And he said your birthday was yesterday?” 

“Yeah, it was.” Stiles nodded. 

“Well, happy birthday!” Allison smiled. “Hold on.” She walked over to the counter and paid for the food that Scott and Stiles had ordered, carrying the bags back toward Stiles. “I got you a cupcake.” 

Stiles laughed. “Thanks, but, uh... let’s get going, okay?” He didn’t want to insult anyone in the diner, so he waited until they were outside, by his Jeep. “The cooked food in there is good. But the baked food isn’t. It’s not their fault. The kitchen staff is old, so they have restricted diets and their tastebuds are kind of shot to hell. Melvin forgot his glasses once and put salt in the sugar cookies.” 

“Eww.” Allison looked embarrassed. “You could be my tour guide for this town, couldn’t you? My family moves around a lot. One of the reasons I decided to do the dares this year... I didn’t do them last year. I’m going to be seventeen in a couple of months. I could have done the dare cycle from July to December, but we were moving at least once a month and I had enough to do, keeping up with my homework and packing. And unpacking. Repacking.” She laughed when Stiles threw the cupcake under the Jeep and opened the door for her. “Oh, thanks. You didn’t have to.” 

“Get in.” Stiles insisted. “We’ve got maybe ten minutes before you’re disqualified, so hurry up and record or do a live broadcast of us leaving the lot.” He walked around the Jeep and got in as Allison pulled her door shut and started recording. 

Allison uploaded the video while Stiles kept driving. “You seem like the kind of person who likes knowing details of things.” She began, glancing over at him. 

“If you’re going to try to tell me what kissing Scott was like, I’d rather not hear it.” Stiles snorted. 

“No, that’s not what I - I just meant that maybe you’d want to know how many people are playing and who they are? You probably know everyone better than I do, so you can tell me if you think they’ll be brave enough to get to the end of this.” Allison explained. 

“Oh. Yeah, I can do that.” Stiles nodded. “What are we looking at, exactly?” 

“There are ten of us in this town. I kind of thought there would be more. But I mean, there’s the four of us - you, me, Scott and Derek. And then there’s a guy named Matt, who says he’s saving up for a new video camera.” 

“That’s probably Daehler.” Stiles mused. “He’s kind of a dork. I mean, I’m a nerd. He’s a dork. You know those people who make stop-motion animations on youtube, and some of them are kind of good?” 

“No, but we’ll pretend I do.” Allison teased. “Keep talking?” 

“Okay, well, I don’t know that Matt does those, but I’m just saying that _if_ he did them, they’d be all about much of a neckbeard he is and being friendzoned. There’s this girl I like, Lydia Martin. Oh my god, you’re not still recording, are you?” 

“No, I finished about five minutes ago, I promise.” Allison said gently. “So, you like Lydia? And Matt does too?” 

“Well, he’d be stupid not to like her, because she’s amazing. But I don’t know if he does or not. I’m just saying that I like her, and I have this whole idea that one day, she’s going to marry me. But right now, she’s dating this guy, Jackson. And he’s an asshole. And there’s also the fact that Lydia doesn’t even know I exist. Deep down, I know this. I know that I’m an asshole, too. But I don’t blame other people for not wanting me. I know I have issues. A guy like Matt would insist that if someone doesn’t like him, it couldn’t be because he’s a douche, it’s got to be because something is wrong with them. Not him, you know? He’ll do whatever he has to, to prove he’s some kind of god, because he’s not. That’s the whole thing. His dares, if the observers are paying any attention at all, are going to be difficult things right away because they’ll be clamoring for him to fuck up. So far, I’ve had to sing a Disney song and sit down with someone else, and that’s the kind of stuff I do all the time anyway. It’s like they’re taking it easy on me. Or maybe that’s just how this is supposed to start? I’m hoping to make it to the end, but I don’t do well with pressure when it’s really bad. I get panic attacks. So I might be a wreck by May.” Stiles admitted. “And I wouldn’t normally even be telling this to someone I just met, but since you’ve already decided to be Scott’s girlfriend and you’re looking for weaknesses in other players, you might as well know mine.” 

“I’m not very brave.” Allison said abruptly. “I mean, I’m not scared of doing this, but I’m a little worried about what they’re going to dare me to do. I don’t know how much you’ve looked into it, but there were these news reports last month about someone who committed suicide and her brother insisted that this game was the reason. That she hadn’t actually killed herself, that they killed her. I kind of want to know what happened. I’m telling you this because I looked you up already. Your dad is the Sheriff. I want your help, if you want to give it. And that’s how you know I'm not recording or broadcasting anything right now, because I wouldn’t be asking for this if they were going to witness it. I’ll help you with the dares if I can, and you can help me, and we can both help Scott? And then the three of us can get to the end and maybe along the way, we can figure this out. It’s possible that the guy was wrong, but I just don’t think he was.” 

“What’s the guy’s name?” Stiles pulled into an empty lot and turned toward Allison. 

“I don’t know. It was anonymous, he asked not to be identified.” Allison looked embarrassed again. “But I overheard some things that make me think that there’s more to all of this. Don’t ask me for more details right now, okay? Just trust me?” 

Stiles studied her, then sighed and nodded. “Yeah, I can do that.” He murmured. “As much as you don’t have a reason to be honest, you don’t have a reason to lie to me, either. Besides, if you piss me off, I can make sure that Scott won’t want anything to do with you.” He said bluntly. “Because I don’t like a lot of people, but if I have a valid reason? He won’t like you, either. Anyway, who else is on the list?” 

Allison smiled. “I’ll show you how to find it yourself after you get me through our tenth dares.” 

Stiles laughed. “Okay, I can respect that.” He sat back, toying with his phone. “What’s your last name?” 

“Argent. Why?” Allison opened the live feed of Scott in the woods, setting her phone on the dashboard so that she and Stiles could watch. 

“Because you know more about me than I know about you, that’s why. I’m a little bit paranoid. Hazards of a parent in law enforcement.” Stiles watched silently for a few minutes, flailing when his phone played the familiar tone again. He ignored Allison’s laughter as he checked his text messages. 

_Punch Jackson Whittemore in the face for two hundred and fifty dollars._

The countdown appeared on his phone, telling him he had forty-five minutes. Stiles picked up Allison’s phone and handed it back to her, driving out of the lot and back toward Jackson’s house. It was at least fifteen minutes away, and he would only have half an hour after that to convince the Whittemores to let him into the house, then find a way out after he hit Jackson. The only other option would be finding a way to climb in through Jackson’s window, but he had seen Jackson’s house and didn’t think there was a chance of that happening. “Okay, listen.” He glanced at Allison. “Do you know how to drive a Jeep?” 

“Not really.” Allison’s phone beeped and she looked down at it. “Stop. I have to get out here and get someone else to drive me home.” She sighed. “It was nice to meet you, Stiles. I don’t suppose you can call someone for me? It doesn’t say that’s not allowed.” 

“I’ll see what I can do. How much time do you have?” Stiles was already starting to feel anxious. Hitting Jackson was something he had wanted to do for a long time anyway, but he didn’t think it would go over so well if he showed up in the middle of the night at the district attorney’s house and punched his son in the face. 

“Ninety minutes. At least they know that this isn’t going to be that easy. But it’s worth a hundred dollars.” Allison said softly. “I only know you and Scott, and he’s too far away and in the middle of his own dare.” 

Stiles smiled, the solution already occurring to him. “Just wait right here. I’ll be back in a little while, with someone who can drive you home.” He waved to Allison when she got out, then sped away, toward Jackson’s house. He parked in front of the house and ran up to the front door, knocking rapidly. 

“What the hell are you doing here, asswi-” Jackson demanded, stumbling backward when Stiles punched him. “You fucking dick! Are you insane? I’m getting my dad right now and he’s going to press charges.” 

“Save it, Malfoy.” Stiles retorted. “I need your help. That was just a bonus. For reasons I can’t explain, my friend Allison needs you to drive her home. I’ll lead the way back to her, you follow in your ‘I have a tiny dick’ Porsche, and then I’ll follow you to make sure you actually drive her to her house. If you don’t do it, I swear to god, Jackson. I’ll just hit you again.” 

Jackson sneered, but it made him hiss in pain. “Fine, I’ll drive your bimbo friend back to her house. She’s probably at least smart enough to know she doesn’t want to be seen in your scrap heap, anyway.” 

Stiles’ eyes narrowed and he thought about defending Allison, but he also knew that if he hit Jackson again or insulted him, the deal was off. As long as the jock thought that he had somehow bested Stiles in insults, he would help Allison stay in the game and nobody would have to clue him in. He snapped a picture of Jackson with the flash off, when the other teen wasn’t paying attention, uploading it and starting his Jeep again. He made sure Jackson stayed behind him by watching in the rearview mirror, then leaned out through his window to talk to Allison when he got back to where he had left her. “The guy in the Porsche is Jackson. He’s going to drive you home, so just give him directions. I’ll follow to make sure you get there, and then we can watch the rest of Scott’s broadcast? How much time is left on that, anyway?” 

“About twenty-two minutes. The drive to my house is another ten or so.” Allison smiled. “Is it weird if I ask you to be friends with me?” 

Stiles opened his mouth to answer and tell her that he already thought of her that way, but Jackson honked his horn. “You’d better get in his car before he pisses himself.” He nodded. “We’ll talk at your house.” He followed behind Jackson’s car when it pulled away from the curb, grimacing as a potential problem occurred to him. He knew they were talking, since Allison kept gesturing where Jackson needed to make a turn, but he hoped that was the extent of their conversation. If Allison somehow ended up charmed by Jackson’s bullshit, then she wasn’t right for Scott, anyway. But Stiles really didn’t like the idea of Jackson flirting with Allison when he already had Lydia. He had seen it happen before and still believed that Lydia could do better. Idly, he wondered how one night could make him stop thinking of her as _Lydia Martin_ and just think of her as Lydia, but he chalked it up to the excitement of the last few hours. It was nearing three am and while everyone else he knew was finished with their third dares, Scott was only wrapping up his second. If his suspicions were right, and they pretty much always were? Scott’s third dare would be taken care of immediately after the second one. 

Stiles parked in front of Allison’s house, right behind Jackson’s car, and got out. He stayed on the sidewalk as he walked toward the Porsche, unable to stop himself from asking Allison as she got out. “Are you okay?” 

“Hey, fuck you, Stilinski.” Jackson called out through the open window. “All I did was give her a ride home.” 

“Yeah, and ten minutes in your presence is enough to make me wanna barf, so I thought it might be the same for her. I was about to offer her some Alka-Seltzer before you interrupted me.” Stiles laughed when Jackson drove off. “I seriously hate that guy. But at least he’s got some decency. I punched him in the face and told him to drive you home and he did.” 

“Really? Because he was telling me that you two used to be friends.” Allison gave Stiles a skeptical smile. 

“Oh, sure, a long time ago. But I haven’t thought of him lately at all.” Stiles snorted, then sighed when Allison didn’t seem to think it was funny. “Okay, if you haven’t seen Veronica Mars or heard of The Dandy Warhols, I can’t be friends with you. I mean, it’s bad enough that Scott won’t watch Star Wars.” 

“Well, after the first couple of times, it’s boring.” Allison protested. 

“Bor- what? No, it’s not!” Stiles shook his head. “I’m appalled. But even so, at least you’ve seen it. Scott hasn’t seen it. We should have a marathon of the Star Wars movies and then watch Veronica Mars.” 

“So Wars and Mars?” Allison teased. “Do you want to do it right now?” 

“Well, I mean, as soon as Scott is done.” Stiles amended. “But I mean, if you think your parents would be fine with it, or if you don’t want to go back in yet? I mean, this late at night, most people our age are not really wandering around.” 

“You haven’t been invited to a lot of parties, have you?” Allison sent Scott a text. ‘Have Derek drop you off at Stiles’ house, we’re going to watch Veronica Mars until you get there.’ She waited for his response, holding the phone up to show Stiles the ‘Okay, see you soon,’ that Scott had sent her. 

“No, actually, I haven’t.” Stiles agreed, nodding when he saw the texts between Scott and Allison. “But being the child of a single parent who works late hours, I know that when I’m out driving around, nobody else is.” 

“Oh.” Allison smiled and walked toward the Jeep, getting in as Stiles got in the other side and started it. She fastened her seatbelt. “Um, I know it’s kind of presumptuous to ask, since if what you’re saying is true, then Scott just had his first kiss tonight. But if he and I were to sneak off and end up in... well, do you have a guest room, or can we use yours? Not for sex. Just to make out.” 

“I don’t think you’re quite getting how important Star Wars is to me and how much I want Scott to watch it.” Stiles glanced over at Allison. “But even I know better than to think that Scott would watch anything at all if he had the opportunity to kiss you again.” He parked in his driveway. “Okay, just so you know, the front door opens right onto two sets of stairs, one up and one down. The flight up goes to the living room, the flight down is to the basement. There’s not a whole lot down there. We’ve got a washer and dryer, and a bunch of old boxes full of stuff we’ve never managed to get rid of. Things that belonged to my mom. Uh, upstairs is just about everything else. Our kitchen, bathroom, bedrooms... there’s mine, my dad’s and a guest room.” He gave her a pointed look. “Make sure you figure out the difference before you do anything crazy, because I don’t really want Scott losing his virginity on my bed and my dad might murder him and me if it happens in his room. Not that you would necessarily go there, but I mean, if it happens.” He shrugged, smiling. “Also, Scott has really bad asthma, so you’re going to want to make sure he has his inhaler.” He laughed when Allison looked horrified. 

Allison followed Stiles up to his front door. “Don’t you think it’s a little weird that you’re sort of arranging sex for him?” 

“Nope.” Stiles shook his head and unlocked the door, sitting on the stairs and taking off his shoes. “See, that’s the thing. I’ve been taking care of myself since I was about eight, and he’s been taking care of himself since he was about eleven. But we take care of each other, too. Scott’s got this whole thing where he’s really good with animals, okay? And last year, when we were freshmen, one of the guys on the basketball team hit me. Just sucker-punched me in the throat. I couldn’t talk for a couple of weeks, and in case you didn’t catch on? I talk a lot. So that kind of threw Scott’s world off-balance, not being able to talk to me. He doesn’t normally get pissed, but he did then. He caught a squirrel and put it in the asshole’s locker, knowing that the squirrel would be really mad by the time the guy opened it. And before you start thinking it was mean to do that to the squirrel, Scott made sure he had plenty to eat while he was stuck in there. Just in case.” 

“And that counts as taking care of you?” Allison untied her shoes and took them off, setting them aside. “Because it seems a little much.” 

“Have you ever been punched in the throat?” Stiles’ eyebrow raised. 

“No.” Allison murmured, yawning. “I guess it wouldn’t feel so great, though. I’m a little more tired than I wanted to tell you. Um. Does the guest room have a lock on the door?” 

Stiles smiled gently. “Yeah, it does. Come on, I’ll show you.” He walked up the stairs and down the hallway to the left, stopping outside the guest room. 

“Thanks. Oh, before I go to sleep, I want to tell you something else.” Allison got her phone out of her pocket and turned to make sure Stiles could see what she was doing as she did it. “Before you go to sleep, you can set a sleep mode on the app. It doesn’t give you more than an eight-hour break, but at least they made sure to factor that in.” 

“I guess I’ll see you in eight hours?” Stiles murmured. “If it makes a difference, I’m probably going to be asleep right after Scott gets here.” 

“Then I’ll see you at ten o’clock.” Allison smiled, going into the guest room and closing the door. “Good night, Stiles. Thank you.” 

“You’re welcome.” Stiles heard the lock click into place and went back down the hall to the kitchen, getting himself a bottle of water. He remembered the food from the diner and smacked his forehead, going back out to the Jeep to get it. Just as he closed the door to the Jeep and double-checked that he had locked it, the bag gripped in his other hand, Derek’s car pulled up in front of the house. Scott got out, and Stiles waved to Derek, who only gave him a nod in response and drove away. 

“I had - to steal - candy.” Scott wheezed. “Told Derek you have my spare inhaler and I’d be fine.” 

Stiles guided Scott back into the house, running to his room to get the inhaler for him, from his backpack. He didn’t let himself laugh until he was sure that Scott was all right. “So instead of just taking the damned candy bar and walking out like a sane person, I’m guessing you snatched it and ran like hell?” 

“Yes. Shut up! I don’t like stealing things.” Scott protested. “But that was my third dare and since I checked the standings and you already did yours, and Allison did hers, I had to do mine. I’m not losing to Derek, anyway. He’s a jerk.” 

“Well, first of all, you wouldn’t have lost to anyone but yourself, since we’re not exactly competing with each other right now. Secondly, Derek was nice enough to drive you back here, and I’m assuming he did it fast, since you were still able to talk your way through that attack.” Stiles pointed out. “Why do you think he’s a jerk? I’m not saying he’s not, just why do _you_ think he is?” 

“Because I spent an hour in his house, and he was pissed off about it. He kept glaring at me and rolling his eyes, and checking his watch. Hey, where’s Allison?” Scott sat down on the couch. “I thought we were watching movies with her.” 

“We were going to, but she said she was actually kind of exhausted. She showed me how to do a time-out from the game, within the rules. Give me your phone.” Stiles held his hand out to Scott. “I’ll set both of ours for a sleep break and then we can rest. When we wake up, though? More dares and maybe you can at least watch Episode Four?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you want to see happen next? Leave me a comment and let me know!


	3. Dares Four and Five

**M. Stilinski ..... $325  
S. McCall ..... $225  
A. Argent ..... $200  
D. Hale ..... $175  
M. Daehler ..... $160**

When their sleep mode ran out of time, Stiles, Scott and Allison were already awake. All three of their phones played the alert to tell them that they had new dares, and there was a knock on the front door almost simultaneously. Stiles ran down the stairs to answer it, fumbling with his phone to try to read the dare, just in case this had a really short time limit. 

“I’m going to assume that you’re stuck here for at least the next six hours.” Derek spoke from the other side of the doorway. “Because that’s how long I’m supposed to sit here with the three of you and run a live broadcast. I have a charger cord. Want to show me where to plug it in?” He looked drained as he finished speaking. 

“Um, sure.” Stiles nodded, backing up from the doorway to let Derek in. He glanced at his text messages as Derek walked past him and up the stairs. The words on the screen made his blood run cold, and he wasn’t sure what to do. 

_Get a tattoo and earn yourself another three thousand dollars_. 

The timer gave him twelve hours, but whoever had come up with this dare knew about Stiles’ fear of needles, and he wasn’t so sure that three thousand dollars would be enough of an incentive. “Hey, Scott?” He called out weakly. “I need you to give me a pep talk right now.” 

“I’ll do it if you cook spaghetti and meatballs.” Scott stood at the top of the stairs, looking down at Stiles. “Because Allison and I have to recreate that scene from Lady and the Tramp. She and I got the same dare, this time. Why is Derek here?” 

“He’s stuck broadcasting until five o’clock.” Stiles walked up the stairs and into the kitchen, dragging Scott along with him. “Okay, so here’s my problem. I have to get a tattoo by eleven o’clock tonight.” 

“What?” Scott shook his head. “That’s not just mean, that’s horrible. They can’t really make you do it. Don’t do it.” 

“Okay, Scott? This is the opposite of a pep talk.” Stiles sighed as he filled a pan with water and set it on the stove. While he waited for it to boil, he got hamburger meat and onions out of the fridge, to start making meatballs. “I don’t want to do it, but I have to do it, you know? Because it’s worth three thousand dollars. So far, I’ve earned three hundred and twenty-five dollars, but another three thousand could go toward just about anything else we need. And not just me, but you, you know? I kind of wish they had offered more, though. But still, I went from hundreds to thousands, and I’m not ready to give up yet. I don’t know what the hell more they can try to get me to do, if this runs six months and they’re already coming up with me getting a tattoo.” 

“Maybe it doesn’t really have to go six months.” Scott shrugged. “Maybe that’s just in case some people do last that long? But you can’t get a tattoo, you’ll pass out just from seeing the needle.” 

“So I won’t look.” Stiles blurted. “You need inhalers and your mom needs a day off. My dad needs healthy food and that’s not as cheap as the junk food he wants to keep eating. And my Adderall isn’t exactly free, either. Plus, we’ve got field trips, book rental fees... I can cover all of it if I keep going, even if you don’t. How much are you and Allison getting for this cute little stunt, anyway?” 

Scott smiled sheepishly. “Two hundred dollars, apiece.” 

“See? And you’ll probably want money to take her on dates. She’s really into you, you know? Where is she, anyway?” Stiles finished dicing the onions and unscrewed the top of the dicer, dumping the jar out into a bowl. 

“She had to talk to her parents. Her mom sounded kind of pissed. Like a howler from Harry Potter.” Scott murmured. 

“Well, can you blame her?” Stiles murmured. “They just moved here and Allison was out all night and spent the night at the home of a guy that she only knew for an hour. I mean, I know I wouldn’t do anything to her, and I figure she knows that, too. But her mom doesn’t. I think it’s different for you and me, because our parents work weird hours, so we’ve kind of always been on our own. But Allison’s only real constant in terms of people would be her family. She said she moves around a lot.” He glanced over his shoulder at the pot on the stove, then started forming meatballs. “Can you get a skillet onto one of the other front burners and put tomato sauce in it for me?” 

“Yeah.” Scott smiled. “You seem like you already know a lot about her. You’re not interested in her, are you?” 

“No.” Stiles shook his head. “She’s one hundred percent yours, whether I like her or not, and I do like her. But only as a friend. A lengthy conversation with someone female isn’t going to make me change my mind about Lydia.” 

“Dude, you called her Lydia.” Scott looked awed, circling the table to study Stiles. “Not Lydia Martin, like you’ve been doing since third grade.”

“Well, you know. She voluntarily goes out with Jackson.” Stiles muttered. “And there’s also the fact that every time I’ve tried to talk to her in the hallway, even just to say hi, she looks right through me. Deliberately. So yeah, at some point between starting a sing-along in the emergency room and punching Jackson in the face, I decided that maybe, you know, _maybe_ she’s just not worth the trouble. Maybe I should give up. I mentioned Lydia’s name to Allison last night while we were talking, waiting on our third dares. She knows the names of everyone else participating in the game, in this town. She didn’t react. Lydia’s not playing. But I am. Lydia can solve complex equations, but is she brave enough to get a tattoo on a Sunday afternoon? Would Lydia drive someone to the remains of her old house where she lost most of her family?” 

“Jesus, Stiles.” Scott whispered. “You haven’t actually moved on from having a crush, you just changed who that crush was on. I can tell that this isn’t all it is, but part of it... you like Derek. You like Derek? Derek’s a guy.” 

“Yes, that’s a thing that can happen sometimes, where a guy can like another guy. Girls can also like girls.” Stiles said patiently. 

“Oh god, I know, I’m not fucking stupid.” Scott snapped, frustrated. He circled back around the table and followed Stiles over to the stove, watching as his friend put spaghetti in the boiling water and started cooking the meatballs. “You need to teach me how to cook more things.” 

“I will.” Stiles promised. “If it makes a difference, it was kind of news to me, too. I sort of always thought some guys were... hot. But I thought that was a desperation thing, you know? It’s just that these dares have me questioning who I am now, and what the hell I’m doing, and I guess who I am is a bisexual guy who doesn’t want to spend his whole life waiting around for things to happen to him. So kind of what you said yesterday, just a little bit modified.” 

“You’re having an identity crisis? Now?” Scott laughed softly, giving Stiles an apologetic smile when he earned a glare for his amusement. “I’m sorry. I’m not making fun of you. It’s just... Stiles, you’re a great cook, a good listener, my best friend. Anything else after that is secondary. At least, that’s my opinion. You don’t have to be some kind of roulette wheel of personality traits, either. And the hell with Lydia Martin if she would rather pretend to be stupid and date Jackson. You deserve better than that.” 

Stiles felt a little awkward about the amount of praise Scott was giving him. He had never done well with compliments, because his mom’s illness had taught him that all the compliments in the world could be taken away. Insults, on the other hand, tended to stay true. He did what he always did when he felt uncomfortable: he turned to humor. “Are you going to try to make out with me now?” 

“Hell no! I have a girlfriend.” Scott beamed. 

Stiles laughed. “Yes, you do.” He nodded. “Go take her a bottle of water. She’s been yelling at her phone for the past few minutes and she’ll be hoarse if she doesn’t drink something.” He watched as Scott practically scampered out of the room, turning back toward the stove to keep an eye on the food. He heard unfamiliar, heavy footsteps behind him. “Hi, Derek. Are you still recording behind me, or did you leave your phone in the living room?” 

“I brought it with me.” Derek pulled a chair out from the table and sat down, looking up at Stiles. Even though he could only see his back, he stayed focused on him for a moment, trying to think of what to say. He could already tell that Stiles liked to talk a lot, so he didn’t have to say much, but he wanted to say something. “Thanks for letting me come in here. You didn’t have to.” 

“Uh, yes I did.” Stiles protested. “Because you’re trying to win, right? And if I don’t let you into the house, then you lose. I wasn’t kidding last night about the four of us working together when we can, like a team. Are you hungry?” 

Derek was confused by the abrupt change in subject, so it took him a minute to answer. “Yes.” 

“Okay. Well, the spaghetti is for Scott and Allison, but I can start something else while I wait for this to finish. What do you want?” Stiles turned to face Derek, giving him an expectant look. 

“I don’t...” Derek stammered. “I don’t care, I guess.” 

“Great, wish sandwiches!” Stiles said sarcastically, smiling. “You know, you put two slices of bread together and wish you had a sandwich?” At Derek’s blank stare, he shook his head. “Nevermind. I’ve got some grilled chicken strips. We could have salad, if that’s okay? I don’t usually cook two different meals at once, so this is about as adventurous as I get in the kitchen.” He got the chicken out of the fridge and put it on a cookie sheet, then set it in the oven to warm up while he started making a salad. Every so often, he glanced up at Derek, who seemed content to just sit still and look everywhere but at Stiles. “This might offend you, and I’m not trying to do that.” He said gently. “But as a person with ADHD, I’m more aware of certain behavioral tics. You seem like you’re somewhere on the autism spectrum. Am I wrong in that?” 

“It’s not something I’ve ever been tested for.” Derek said carefully. “Why?” 

“Well, you look like you’re having a really hard time with conversation, and it’s not just today, it was last night, too. I thought maybe last night it was because I just invited myself to sit with you and wouldn’t shut up, or because you were tired? It was pretty late. But now you’re here of your own free will, and you still seem hesitant to talk. But you could have stayed in the other room by yourself. I don’t know, I’m just trying to figure you out. I mean, it might not be autism. Or not absolute autism. Um... not that autism is an absolute.” Stiles rambled. “Just... I mean to say that it could be social anxiety disorder. Which has traits in common with autism. I’m not a psychologist. Obviously. But it took about a year for them to decide that I had ADHD, so they tested me for just about everything else, first. I’m on a prescription cocktail of Adderall, Ativan, and a few other things. The Ativan is just as needed, but it’s for nerves and I got the crap knocked out of me a lot, freshman year. It’s not as bad now, since I started taking self-defense classes from my dad’s deputies. But it just kind of sits on the shelf of my medicine cabinet, mocking me. And I think people seeing Jackson’s mangled face at school tomorrow might make them think twice before they come at me again. Okay, so I’m getting sidetracked again. Scott’s gotten pretty good at not letting me derail like that. You’ll learn to do it, too. If you want to. Do you want to take some Ativan? It might help you. That’s where I was going with this.”

Derek stared at Stiles as he ranted, then smiled. “I’ll take Ativan if you can tell me honestly that you took your Adderall today.” 

“I took it.” Stiles nodded. “You just make me nervous and being nervous makes me word-vomit.” 

“Do you also wear pink shirts on Wednesdays?” Derek asked dryly. 

“Oh my god, you made a joke. Yes! But no, I don’t.” Stiles turned the burner off under the spaghetti and drained the water from it. “I’ve given people enough reason to hate me, I’m not adding one more. And while everyone in school knows that Danny is gay and they’re fine with that, they would be less fine with me admitting that I like guys. If they even think I might, I might as well punch myself in the face and save them the trouble. Not that it would stop them.” 

“Stiles.” Derek exhaled, shaking his head. “I’m going to call the tattoo parlor downtown and get you an appointment today, for sometime around seven. Is that all right?” 

Stiles made a whimpering noise. “Um. I want so much to say no, but I can’t. So yes. Thank you? It feels weird to say thank you. Thank you, Derek, for giving someone the opportunity to punch holes in my skin and fill them with ink that I can only remove through painful laser surgery.”

“It won’t be that bad.” Allison assured Stiles, giving Derek a wary smile as she sat down at the table. “My mom screamed at me for ten minutes, and then my dad screamed at me for another five minutes, and then I told them both that if they don’t leave me alone for the rest of today, I’m going to tell the Sheriff that I don’t feel safe and they’ll be investigated. So now I can stay until eleven o’clock tonight, if I want to.” She smiled. 

“And after you threatened them, you feel safe to go home?” Stiles looked startled. “If I tried that with my dad, he’d tell me to come get my stuff and figure out shit on my own. Probably. I can’t really say for sure how he would react because I’d never do that to him.” 

“My mom wouldn't kick me out for that.” Scott added, sitting down across from Allison. “She’d just ground me forever.” He blushed when Stiles set the spaghetti and meatballs down in the middle of the table. 

“Derek, if you want to go back into the living room, I’ll be right there.” Stiles rinsed the pans and left them in the sink, then cut up the grilled chicken and added it to the bowls of salad for himself and Derek. He smiled at Scott and Allison. “When you two are done being cute for the rest of the world to see, you can do the dishes.” He left the room, ignoring Scott’s indignant protests. 

“Do you want to watch a movie?” Stiles sat down and put the bowls of salad on the coffee table. “We could. Or tv. Either way is fine with me, I just don’t like sitting here to eat if I’m not going to be watching something. But it’s your call. And their fault for telling you to broadcast for the next few hours. We should marathon Star Wars, since I’m told everyone hates it. Maybe I’ll get a lightsaber tattoo.” 

“Sure, if you really do want to get someone to beat you up.” Derek remarked. “What’s important to you? That’s what you should be getting.” He hesitated, then leaned forward and pulled his shirt off, turning to show his back to Stiles. “I have this. It’s a triskelion. It’s about the way things can change. Evolve.” 

Stiles reached up toward Derek’s back, but lowered his hand before he made contact. “Okay, but what’s important to me right now might not be important to me next week.” He picked up his salad and took a bite. “You can put your shirt back on if you want. You don’t have to. Whatever you’re comfortable with.” 

Derek was silent as he pushed his arms through the sleeves and tugged his shirt on over his head. “You don’t really strike me as the kind of guy who thinks Star Wars is the best thing about his life.” 

“No, that’s true.” Stiles murmured. “Derek, eat your salad.” He smiled faintly when the older man listened and picked up his bowl. “I want to be a cop, like my dad. But I don’t think a badge is the right kind of tattoo, either. I really don’t want something lame. I have to get a tattoo, but I want something that I won’t hate, and I’m not sure what that is. I only have a few hours to figure it out. Go ahead and make the appointment, I’m just going to my room for awhile.” He set his bowl of salad back down on the coffee table and went down the hall, closing and locking his door because he didn’t want to be bothered. 

***

“I’m getting the Batman logo.” Stiles said softly, sitting back down beside Derek a few hours later. “I looked up a lot of tattoos and saw a lot of things I wish I could unsee, but if there’s one thing I agree with, it’s doing whatever it takes to get the bad guy. I love Batman. Except for the fact that he’s an orphan, I want to be Batman. So that’s what I’m doing. I don’t want to think about it anymore, I just wanted to tell you. Did I miss anything?” 

“Allison has to dye her hair purple. Scott walked to the store with her to buy it.” Derek glanced at his phone to make sure it was still broadcasting, then looked back up at Stiles. “You’re in the lead, in terms of money. For this town, anyway. Do you really plan on getting through the next six months?” 

“I might not win.” Stiles shrugged one shoulder. “But I want to at least make the top five in the country. Six months of dares is a lot, but I’ve got a lot of things I need to spend the money on. Not stuff, not material things.” He licked his lips, glancing toward Derek’s phone. He realized what the older man was trying to do for him. If the observers could sympathize with him, he had a greater chance of easier dares for more money. “Hospital bills we’re still trying to get caught up on, from my mom’s stay when she was sick. We’ve been on a payment plan since I was in kindergarten. That’s why it was so easy for me to hit Jackson when I was dared to, I think. Because he’s always had money and he doesn’t really get what struggling financially is like. Most teenagers I know don’t drive a Porsche. And it’s not just me. I have my mom’s old Jeep, but Scott and his mom have to share a car. Scott rides his bike when he can. He’s trying to save up for a motorbike, though. I know that prizes are a thing we can earn, too. If he could do something, um, not so strenuous, to earn a motorbike? He’d be so excited. He’s got really bad asthma. And, you know, tattoos freak me out because I don’t like needles. But I do like money and I already promised Scott that because I’m earning more than him already, I’m going to help pay for his medication.” 

“I have to keep this going for three more hours.” Derek said casually, nodding slightly at Stiles to let him know he had the right idea. “I’ve been channel-surfing for a while now. Is it all right if I watch a movie?” 

“We could watch Batman?” Stiles suggested, smiling. “I’m in the mood to see it again right now, you know?” He got up and found the dvd, putting it into the player and sitting back down to start it. A few minutes into the movie, Allison and Scott walked back in. Stiles glanced over the back of the couch to look at them. 

“It’s okay if I dye my hair here, isn’t it?” Allison looked uncertain. “I could do it at home, but I don’t really want to go there yet.” 

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Stiles assured her. “Just make sure to clean up afterward. Scott, come watch Batman.” He patted the couch, then looked at Allison again. “Do you want to borrow one of my old shirts, so you don’t ruin yours?” 

“That would be great, thank you.” Allison smiled. “I don’t know why a lot of people don’t like you. You’re sweet.” She turned toward Scott and kissed him, then carried her hair dye into the bathroom.

Stiles went down the hall to get an old t-shirt, knocking on the door and tossing the shirt to Allison when she opened it. “Here. Sorry for throwing it, it’s habit. Are you going to be here for dinner? I’m trying to figure out what to make.” 

“Anything but spaghetti.” Allison grinned. “This is going to take me about an hour. Are you sure it’s okay?” 

“Not to be gross, but we’re all guys. We’ll pee outside if we have to.” Stiles laughed. “My dad should be home around the time you’re finishing up. I’ll let you get to it.” He walked back into the living room and sat between Scott and Derek. He lost himself in the movie, only waving a hand in greeting at his dad when the Sheriff came home. By the time the movie ended, Allison’s hair was dry and dark purple, and his dad was paying for pizza for the five of them. Stiles was too nervous about the rest of his night to bother arguing with his dad about the carbs and cholesterol in a single slice of pizza. He looked around the room, calculating but staying silent until Derek’s broadcast time was up. When he was sure that Derek was done and that his father was out of the room, he spoke. “Okay, how many dares have each of you completed now?” 

Scott looked confused, but he counted on his fingers. “I’ve done four. Allison did five. You’re about to do your fourth one, right?” When Stiles nodded to him, he continued. “Okay, and Derek just did his fourth one, too? That was the broadcast?” 

Derek cleared his throat. “Yeah, that was it.” He looked at Stiles. “What are you thinking?” 

“I’m thinking that you two are about to get your fifth dares, and mine is coming right after I get my tattoo.” Stiles glanced at the time on his phone, then stood up. “And I want to get going now, to get this over with. Even though I’ll probably throw up or pass out.” 

“Do you want us to come with you?” Scott glanced at Allison, then looked back at Stiles. “Someone else is going to probably have to drive you home when you’re done, don’t you think?” 

“Yeah.” Stiles nodded. He grimaced and took a deep breath, then another one, before he went down the stairs and outside, to the Jeep. He wasn’t surprised when Derek got into his Camaro instead, he just gestured for Derek to lead the way to the tattoo parlor. Even though Stiles was familiar with the majority of downtown, there were some places he knew better than to go, and some places he had no reason to be anywhere near. The tattoo parlor was one of those places. 

“Do you think they’re done with me for the night?” Allison asked Stiles. “Or do you think I’ll have another dare before midnight?” 

“I don’t know, I’m still trying to figure this out. Derek probably didn’t get a whole lot of money for broadcasting for six hours. But then again, maybe he did? Because he had to sit in my house and broadcast for that long, and it’s not like we’re the most fun people to be around. Especially for someone Derek’s age.” Stiles mused. “Anyway, my guess is that none of us will get another dare until everyone else in the country has completed five. It would be nice to know who the observers are, but I think they get to stay anonymous for a pretty good reason.” 

Scott’s phone played the dare tone and he read the text as Stiles parked in the lot beside the tattoo parlor. “For a motorbike, I have to go steal at least three puppies from an address they gave me, and I’m supposed to drop them off somewhere else. And broadcast myself doing it.” He bit his lip. “I don’t know if I should kidnap someone’s pets.” 

“Maybe you should just go check it out?” Stiles suggested. “You could leave a note or something, if you’re worried. They didn’t say you can’t do that. Besides, you’ve been saving up for that thing for a long time, and now you can use the money on something else. Just take my Jeep. It’ll be faster and you can get away easier, too. And Allison will help.” He glanced back at her. “Won’t you?” 

“Yes.” Allison said firmly. “We’ll probably even be back in time to see you getting your tattoo.” She got out of the back and climbed into the passenger seat as Stiles walked into the building. 

Stiles talked to the tattoo artist and explained what he wanted, deciding that the best place for the tattoo was his left bicep, since he was right-handed and figured his muscle would be sore. Having to start a new semester in the morning meant that there would be difficulty writing, if he got the emblem on his right arm. He started watching Scott’s broadcast as he waited, hoping that it would be enough to distract him from the pain he was about to endure. 

On the live feed, Scott practically whimpered at the sight of a medium-sized cage full of puppies who were getting too big for such a space. “Yeah, this is the right thing to do.” He whispered to Allison. “I wish I had brought some stuff to keep them quiet, though. I don’t want whoever lives here to know what we’re doing, and if the dogs make a lot of noise...” He trailed off, unlatching the cage door and opening it carefully. He picked up the first puppy to dart out, adjusting his grip on his phone and counting the other puppies quietly as Allison reached for two more. “Let’s just take all of them, okay?” He turned toward Allison and smiled when she nodded. There were six in total, and he had to shove his phone in his pocket with a muttered apology to the observers. 

Stiles kept his gaze on his phone, his teeth clenched as he tried to ignore the pain in his arm. After about fifteen minutes of muffled conversation and a black screen, Scott’s face came back into view. 

“Okay, we’ve parked in front of this house for sale.” Scott spoke at a normal volume. “We left the puppies in the back yard because it’s fenced, and I have food and water for them. Sorry this wasn’t a very exciting thing to watch, but I couldn’t carry all of them and hold my phone at the same time. Whoever you are that asked for this, please make sure the animals get to a vet soon, okay? One of them was limping and another two have fleas. My best friend is going to kill me if I don’t clean his Jeep, so I need to do that before he’s done getting his tattoo. Stiles, I know you’re watching and I’m sorry.” The view on the screen changed as Scott turned his phone around, showing the puppies in the fenced in yard. He turned the phone around again and looked down at the camera. “We’ve got to get out of here. Thanks for watching.” 

Stiles closed his eyes and breathed in and out slowly, thinking of anything he could to make the pain go away and drown out the noise of the tattoo gun. When this was over, he would have another three thousand dollars. He was going to be a little selfish and buy some candy, because he figured he had damned well earned it. About halfway into the tattoo being inked on his skin, his anxiety gave way to an odd sort of calm, and he felt peaceful. The buzzing sound was pleasant and he was starting to smile. Before he knew it, the process was over and he was listening carefully to the care instructions and following Derek back outside, where Allison and Scott were waiting. He had already submitted a picture that Derek took of the tattoo and made sure to get his face in the shot, so that nobody could accuse him of lying. His arm stung, but he hugged Scott and smiled crookedly. “That was awesome. You’d better have removed every single flea from my Jeep or I’ll have you murdered. I can afford it now.” He laughed. “Oh my god, I have a tattoo.” 

“Oh my god, my hair is purple.” Allison smiled. “Okay, you guys need to drive me home.” She paused, turning to watch Derek walk toward his car. “Bye. See you tomorrow!” She called out. She wasn’t sure that she would, but she was optimistic that he would have to open up to her sooner or later. 

Derek started to pull his car door shut, but he glanced down at his phone, then looked up at Stiles. His jaw clenched and he got out of the car, walking over to the energetic teenager. “I’m really sorry about this.” He handed his phone to Allison. “Just take a picture.” 

Before Stiles could ask what Derek was apologizing for, he was being kissed. It took him a couple of seconds to realize what was happening, and he kissed back, stunned when Derek hurriedly pulled away and took his phone back from Allison. He was driving away before Stiles had a chance to ask what had just happened, but then his brain caught up with his lips and he frowned. “Oh. I guess he didn’t actually want to do that.” He muttered, looking at Scott. “At least the person dared to kiss you wanted to kiss you, you know? She chose you. Derek couldn’t get away from me fast enough.” His good mood was ruined and he got into the Jeep, forgetting that he still had a fifth dare of his own to complete until Scott and Allison were sitting in the back together, and Stiles’ phone alert went off. 

_Tell Lydia Martin how you really feel about her, to earn a five hundred dollar gift card to Macy’s, for new clothes._

Stiles wanted to protest, only half-heartedly listening to Scott’s angry ranting about Derek being a jerk as the countdown clock on his dare displayed that he only had forty-five minutes. He glanced in the rearview mirror and put his foot down on the gas. This was the last thing in the world he wanted to do, considering his burgeoning feelings for Derek, which was certainly another crush that would go nowhere. There was also the fact that he didn’t really want new clothes, but he had to do this, to stay in the game. He just wasn’t sure anymore what the point was, to any of it. 

“Stiles, what’s going on? Where are we go- oh, shit. What are they making you do?” Scott demanded, staring at Lydia’s house. 

Stiles ignored him, turning his live broadcast option on and walking up to Lydia’s front door. He rang the bell, his eye on the timer. When nobody was answering quickly enough, he rang the bell a second time. 

“Oh, fine!” Lydia snapped from the other side of the door. “Prada, get out of the way, would you?” She yanked the door open and stared at Stiles, an unimpressed look on her face. “Yes?” 

Stiles wasn’t sure what he was going to say until he said it. “I kept waiting for the day when we could have a conversation.” He began. “Because I really liked you. Liked, uh, past tense.” 

“I don’t really think-” Lydia began, but Stiles interrupted her. 

“The thing is, you do.” Stiles blurted. “You think a lot and you’re really intelligent, and your dumbass boyfriend doesn’t even know that. And I think you’re beautiful, but I don’t want you anymore. Not that it makes much of a difference to you, I guess. I’ve had a weird weekend, and I got a tattoo, and I know I’m not actually invisible. I’m the best person you’re never going to date. You deliberately looked right through me in the halls at school. So... if someone had asked me yesterday how I felt about you, I would have said that I still had hope that you’d see me and maybe we’d have a great relationship and get married.” He shook his head, smiling ruefully. “But they didn’t ask me yesterday. And today, you’re just the girl who never gave me a chance. I guess I just wanted you to know that.” He stared at her, not sure what else he could possibly say, and Lydia looked as confused as he felt. “Yeah. Um. Bye.” He stepped backward off the porch and turned the broadcast off as he walked back to the Jeep. He wanted to look back and see what Lydia was doing, since he hadn’t heard her door close, but he didn’t think it was worth the trouble.

“Are you okay?” Scott asked softly. “We kind of watched it in split screen. The video feed and the two of you right there.” 

Stiles pulled away from the curb, sighing shakily. “Not really.” He glanced over at Scott, who had moved into the passenger seat while he was ranting at Lydia. “But it’s done, you know? There’s absolutely nothing else I can say to her, I’m pretty sure.” 

“You don’t have to go out with her, you know?” Allison made a face. “I mean, even if she wanted you now, you can find someone who won’t treat you like you don’t exist. You like Derek, but he seems like he’s not interested in dating someone. And I’m sure someone else likes you.” 

“No, they don’t.” Stiles snorted. “Literally _no one_ wants me. I appreciate that you’re trying to make me feel better, but my tattoo and I are just gonna drop you guys off and go home. I’ll see you at school tomorrow.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there, observers! You know what to do.


	4. The Sixth Dare

**M. Stilinski ..... $3825  
S. McCall ..... $3425  
D. Hale ..... $2500  
T. Raeken ..... $2100  
E. Newman ..... $1600  
A. Newman ..... $1375  
A. Argent ..... $1150  
B. Talbot ..... $1100  
M. Walker ..... $1075  
M. Daehler ..... $950**

On Monday morning, Stiles met up with Scott at their lockers. He smiled at the sight of Scott’s wide smile. “I guess you got your motorbike, then?” 

“Yeah, it was delivered this morning.” Scott nodded. “My mom asked me if I’m a drug dealer. I told her she goes through my room all the time, if there was something to hide, she would have found it.” 

“And then she made you pee in a cup.” Stiles guessed, opening his locker. 

“Yeah.” Scott admitted, laughing. “But I don’t care. I got puppies away from an abusive situation and got a motorbike for it. For that, I’ll pee in twenty cups.” He opened his own locker and put his coat inside. 

“Lydia!” One of the lacrosse players cried out in an obviously false, whiny tone. “Lydia! Give me a chance, Lydia! We could be happy together and get married.” 

Stiles froze, his hand on the door of his locker as other students burst into laughter around him. His jaw clenched and he wondered why he had ever thought that documented proof that he punched Jackson would be enough to make other people leave him alone. He spotted a plain white envelope on the top shelf of his locker and reached in to grab it. A hard plastic gift card was inside, and he took it out of the envelope and got his wallet out of his back pocket, to put the gift card there. 

“I think you should give me that, Stilinski.” Jackson called out, walking across the hall. “You and McCall and your purple-haired bitch wouldn’t have the first clue what to spend it on, anyway.” 

“Why don’t you get out of here before I punch you in your other eye?” Stiles turned to face Jackson. “Or the throat. I know firsthand how much that hurts. You wanna be pissed off at me for telling Lydia I’m _not_ interested in her? Did I knock what little brains you have loose in your head?” 

Jackson hesitated, glancing back toward Lydia, who was reapplying her lipstick across the hall. 

“Yeah, that’s what I thought.” Stiles muttered. “What you’re going to do right now is tell Allison that you’re sorry you called her a bitch, or I’ll tell every girl in this school that you think that kind of behavior is acceptable. You and Lydia break up at least once a month. You don’t stand a chance of getting rebound sex if you don’t listen to me.” 

“Don’t you have to have proof that I said it?” Jackson scoffed. 

“Who says I don’t have proof, Jackson?” Stiles smirked. “You know I got that gift card because of the game, and that’s also why I hit you the other night. I’m constantly doing live broadcasts to make sure I stay in. Even if I’m not recording, I bet someone else is. You know Matt Daehler got a brand new video camera, right? I guarantee you that he brought it to school to show off.” 

Jackson scowled, but he walked back across the hall and spoke quietly to Allison, then glared at Stiles again and walked over to Lydia. 

“I thought he was going to beat you up. Or me. Or both of us.” Scott blurted. 

Stiles put his arm around Scott’s shoulders. “Listen. You’ll be in homeroom with Lydia and most of what’s going to happen is that people are going to be saying shit to her about me, like they’re making fun of me and expecting her to laugh at me, too. If anyone does say something to you and they don’t know about the game, just give them the link to the videos for this town. But you’ll be fine. Danny’s in your homeroom too, and he’s got more sense than Jackson. I’m stuck with a bunch of jocks and Erica Reyes, which means if they’re not going to start shit with me, they’re going to start it with her. I fucking hate homeroom.” He glanced across the hallway at Allison, then hurried over to her. “Hey, listen. You’re about to end up in homeroom. It’s sorted alphabetically, which means you’re about to get stuck with Matt Daehler for half an hour. He might not, but his best strategy right now is to try to fuck with your mind or convince you to help him out. He’s the lowest-ranked person in this town, and he has to know that by now.” 

“Does that mean you figured out how to track everyone and keep updated on the ranks without my help?” Allison smiled. 

“That’s exactly what it means.” Stiles nodded. “But I’ll still help you through the next five missions. You’re dropping a lot in the ranks and I don’t understand that.” 

“I don’t, either.” Allison frowned. “Maybe the observers don’t like me.” 

“Or they think you don’t need the help.” Stiles mused. “The alert I got this morning said that nobody is getting any dares until noon today, and then it’s some kind of big surprise that they’ve never done before? Did you get that one?” 

“Yeah, I did.” Allison sighed. “But I don’t understand why they’re changing things now.” 

“Well, maybe it just didn’t work before.” Stiles rolled his eyes and tilted his head back in frustration when the bell rang for homeroom. “We’ll be at lunch when the new thing happens, so I’ll see you then, yeah? Bye.” He waved to Scott, laughing to himself when his best friend hurriedly kissed Allison and went down the hall to his own homeroom. 

As soon as Stiles sat down, Erica Reyes dropped into the seat in front of him and turned to face him. “So, are you gay?” 

“No.” Stiles glanced up at her. “I’m bisexual. Probably. I don’t really know, I haven’t done anything. Well, I kissed... someone. That was it.” 

“Honey, if the idea of dick gets you hot, you like men. If vagina is more your thing, you like women. If you would be happy with either one, you’re bi. It’s that simple. You don’t have to try it to figure it out.” Erica said bluntly, laughing. “That kiss between you and Derek was hot. You _need_ to get on that. And Lydia’s kind of a bitch, so good for you for not liking her anymore.” 

Stiles stared at Erica in disbelief. “You’re an observer?” 

“You’re damned right I am!” Erica smiled. “And if you want me to observe you and Derek getting naked and sweaty, I’ll do that, too.” 

“Okay, that’s not going to happen, like, ever.” Stiles muttered. “Derek doesn’t actually like me. He only kissed me as a dare, and then he just...” He gestured vaguely. “Ran off. He couldn’t wait to get away from me.” 

“So you’re an idiot.” Erica shook her head and turned around in her seat. “For what it’s worth, I’ve had a crush on you for the past few years, but I can see now that I’m not the type of person you want. You like bossy know-it-all types. That’s not me. That at least makes me feel better. But no, the reason why you’re stupid is because you’re hot and if you would maybe act a little more confident and stop staring at Lydia all the time, you’d probably have a girlfriend or a boyfriend. Now that you’re finally getting over her, you might have a chance.” She turned back around to face Stiles again, an annoyed expression on her face. “I should have phrased it differently, but it still holds true.” 

“Would you at least want to be friends with me?” Stiles asked cautiously, feeling awkward as he said it. “I wish you had said something to me sooner, about liking me.” 

“It wouldn’t have made a difference and you know it.” Erica protested. “But yes, we can be friends. And when you go shopping with that gift card, I want to go with you. I don’t want you buying more flannels or hoodies. You know what you should do? You should tell Lydia that if she wants to put her brain to use, she should come with us after school. Scott’s going to be busy with his girlfriend, anyway.” 

“Will you be nice to Lydia if she comes with us, since you think she’s a bitch?” Stiles couldn’t help smiling. Erica’s odd sense of humor was a lot like his and he could regret not spending time with her sooner, or he could be grateful that he had ended up signing up for the game and was talking to her now. “You know, I was going to be an observer.” He admitted. “But then Scott hit me and I bumped the mouse and it signed me up.” 

Erica laughed. “Are you serious? That’s great! You’re going to win, you know. I believe you will. I’ll try to be nice to her, but if she starts shit, I’m going to finish it, Stiles.” 

Stiles nodded. “That’s fair.” He agreed. “The question is, though, how am I going to get close enough to even ask her, now that I kind of humiliated myself to tell her that I don’t even like her that way anymore? Jackson’s like a fucking guard dog. If I even try to talk to Lydia, he’s going to lose his shit.” 

Erica smiled knowingly. “Then let him lose his shit, but get Scott to record it from his phone. And Allison from hers. And me from mine.” She rolled her eyes when their homeroom teacher told her to turn around and stop talking to Stiles. 

A few minutes later, Stiles finished studying his schedule and texted the list of his classes to Scott and Allison. “Hey, give me your phone number?” He asked Erica. “I can text you and let you know if or when I plan on talking to Lydia. You want to sit with us at lunch?” 

Erica wrote down her phone number for Stiles, not wanting someone else to overhear and save it in their own phone. She handed him the slip of paper. “Yeah, I’d like to. But I might not do that. I’ve been eating my lunch in the nurse’s office. I hate the cafeteria. The lights in there are fucked up and they keep blinking, and it causes me to have seizures.” 

“Then we’ll come to the nurse’s office and eat with you.” Stiles said quickly. “And I’ll call Scott’s mom and my dad and tell them that this school isn’t safe for you. My dad can probably find a law that the school is breaking by making the cafeteria an unsafe environment for you.” 

Erica stared at Stiles, then glanced toward the front of the room to make sure the teacher wasn’t paying attention. She got up from her seat and kissed Stiles’ cheek. “You’re so sweet.” She smiled hesitantly. “You don’t have to do that.” 

“I know. But I’m going to, anyway.” Stiles shrugged, making a face when his tattoo brushed against the sleeve of his shirt.

“Let me see?” Erica waited for permission, then tugged Stiles’ sleeve up and looked at the Batman logo on his bicep. “That’s so hot. And it does suit you. What was it like, getting this?” 

“Well, I’m freaked out about needles-” Stiles blinked when Erica interrupted him. 

“No, I know all of that, I watched you and Derek talking. Skip to the good part.” Erica smiled. “Did it hurt? Was the tattoo guy a biker? Or was it a woman with tattoos everywhere? Are they really like stereotypes from tv?” 

Stiles laughed. “It did hurt, the tattoo artist was a guy who looked like he was three hundred percent done with my bullshit and I hadn’t even said anything to him yet, and I thought I was going to throw up until about halfway through, and then the endorphins had me kind of messed up. I would have cuddled a rabid dog when I was done. So that was a thing.” 

“Well, if I can ever get one, would you come with me?” Erica looked hopeful. “It’s not like it would be until I’m old enough, because if I even think about getting a fake ID, my dad’s spider sense goes off and he grounds me. Not that he’s grounding me from anything, since I never go anywhere.” 

“Yeah. Maybe we can go today to talk to him - the tattoo artist, not your dad - and see what he thinks? He’s got about fifteen years of experience, I think he’ll have a better idea than we do.” Stiles laughed. “And he doesn’t seem to give a shit about how old you are, as long as you can pay. I might be sixteen, but I know I don’t look sixteen, and it’s not because I look eighteen. Maybe I can convince Lydia to just take the gift card and give me cash for it, to pay for your tattoo?” 

“No!” Erica snapped. “You need new clothes. I’ll pay for my own tattoo, you don’t have to do everything for me.” The bell rang and she stood up, clutching her books. “I’ll see you at lunch.” 

“Yeah, nurse’s office. I’m looking forward to it.” Stiles smiled. 

Erica scowled, but faltered when she realized Stiles was serious and not just messing with her. “Oh. Well, okay. See you later, then.” 

***

By the time he got through the lunch line, Stiles was still trying to figure out how to talk to Lydia without getting attacked by a dozen different people. He had already gone to the principal about the light in the cafeteria being weird, and he had walked around the building to check the cafeteria, just to make sure that the light was being fixed. He was late to Harris’ class, but since that teacher hated him anyway, Stiles hadn’t really cared what he had to say. He had sent a text to Erica after that class, telling her to come to the cafeteria. 

Erica sat down beside Stiles and shook her chocolate milk before she opened the carton. She gave him a grateful smile and put her chin down on his shoulder, hugging him with one arm. “Thank you, Batman.” She laughed softly. “Did you talk to Lydia yet?” 

“Do you see anyone else in this school carrying my balls around like a trophy?” Stiles snorted. 

“They couldn’t do it.” Erica grinned back at him. “They’re too big.” 

“Aww, you’re sweet.” Stiles laughed. He blinked at the sound of a tray hitting the table, turning to verify that Scott and Allison were already sitting with him and Erica before he kept going with his head-turn, giving Lydia a confused smile. “Um? Are you lost?” 

“No.” Lydia smiled. “Are you?” 

“Uh, this is the table I usually sit at, so no, I’m not.” Stiles shook his head. “Why are you sitting with us?” 

“Do you own the table?” Lydia glanced over at Allison. “I like your hair.” 

“Thanks!” Allison smiled at the redhead. “Forgive Stiles, he dropped his manners in Harris’ class, I think.” 

“I would have said he dropped them on my front porch.” Lydia remarked, looking back at Stiles. “I heard you have a gift card for Macy’s.” 

“Oh, that’s what this is? You want it, so you thought you’d just come over here and play nice and pretend we’re best friends all of a sudden?” Stiles snapped. 

“Calm down.” Erica said softly. She leaned past Stiles to look at Lydia. “He didn’t lose his manners, he’s being polite and not telling you that you’re kind of a bitch. Just tell him what you want and if he says no, then you can fuck off.” 

“And you told _me_ to calm down?” Stiles shook his head at Erica. 

“I want to know the person that showed up at my house last night and told me he’s the best person I’ll never date.” Lydia tilted her head. “But I suppose I have been a bitch. I wouldn’t care, except that everyone has been determined to remind me all day about this person who - according to a lot of people - has been in love with me for years now.” She looked at Stiles. “Who the hell are you?” 

“He’s Batman.” Erica spoke before Stiles could. “He’s Scott’s best friend, and my best friend, too. And if you’re as smart as he said you are, then you’ll immediately make him your best friend and maybe tell Jackson to fuck off, while you’re at it.” 

“Is ‘fuck off’ your favorite expression?” Lydia looked amused. “There are plenty of ways to express yourself without resorting to guttermouth. Maybe you should ask Batman here to buy you a thesaurus.” 

“Maybe you should take a ride on the broomstick you got wedged up your ass.” Erica smiled. 

“Erica.” Stiles shook his head at her. 

“Okay, here’s how it is.” Erica took a drink of her chocolate milk, then set it down on her tray. “I don’t see how you can just be over her that fast, because I still have feelings for you and it doesn’t help that you’re being really great and you got them to fix that stupid light that’s kept me away from here for more than half of the last semester. So maybe I’m being a bitch because I don’t want you to start thinking how great she is and how a girl like me could never compete with a girl like her.” 

“Obviously.” Lydia muttered. 

“Lydia, shut the fuck up.” Stiles glanced over at Scott and Allison. “How did this become my life?” He turned toward Erica without waiting for an answer. “She’s right, but not for the reasons she thinks she is. You could never compete with Lydia because you’re better than her.” 

“What?!” Both girls blurted, glaring at Stiles. 

Stiles laughed. “In some ways.” He said gently. “Erica, you don’t lie about who you are, and if someone doesn’t like you, they can go to hell, as far as you’re concerned. That’s awesome and I need to be more like that.” He turned toward Lydia. “And you care so much about what other people think that you never do anything without thinking about how it’s going to impact everyone in your life. It’s fucked up and you shouldn’t be like that, but at the same time? It’s better than I am, because my usual method of dealing with things is to deliberately piss people off, so that I don’t have to worry about disappointing them later. It’s a bad tactic.” He shrugged. “But it’s who I am.” 

Lydia eyed Stiles like he was a puzzle she was determined to solve. “What else do I need to know about you?” 

Stiles’ phone beeped and he glanced down at it, then looked up at Erica. “I have to go. Are you going to play nice while I’m gone?” He teased. 

“I promise not to maim her.” Erica smiled widely. “Go on.” She nodded to Allison and Scott, who were already getting up from the table. “Relax, I’ll get your trays. Just go.” 

“Thank you.” Stiles leaned down to hug Erica and kiss her forehead. He wasn’t sure it was the right thing to do, knowing that she had feelings for him. He wasn’t trying to lead her to believe he was interested in her, but he did care about her and already felt protective of her. He followed Allison and Scott out of the cafeteria. “The library.” He said before either of them could ask where they were going. “We need to figure out how we’re going to do this.” He waited until they were in the library before he glanced down at his phone again, wanting to make sure he hadn’t misread the message. 

_All contestants have until Friday at five pm to get any remaining balance that will bring their total to five thousand dollars. Any contestant unable to do this will be eliminated._

“Did you guys get the same message that I did?” Stiles held his phone out to show the text to Scott and Allison. When they nodded, he bit his lip, glancing around the library. “Okay.” He said after a long moment. “I have a few ideas for how we can get the money.” 

Scott gave Stiles a wary smile. “How many of these ideas are legal?” 

“Not a single one.” Stiles admitted. 

“Oh my god, okay. I want to quit.” Scott put his head down on the table as Allison laughed softly. “Is it possible for you to not tell me what these ideas are? I don’t want to be an accessory to your crimes.” 

“You should probably walk away right now, then.” Stiles suggested to both of them. 

“I’m not going to do that.” Allison sat up straight, putting a hand on Scott’s back. “Scott, if you want to go, it’s fine with me. We’ll be okay.” 

Scott sat up again, opening and closing his mouth a few times before he shook his head. “No, I’ll stay. What are we doing?” 

Stiles smiled at Scott. “A few things. First of all, the station has a bunch of drugs in evidence. I can steal some and sell them for more money. I don’t think it’s a good idea to sell my Adderall, but I still have some painkillers from when I got my wisdom teeth out, last summer. After today, I’ll have a bunch of old clothes I can sell at the consignment shop downtown, assuming they’ll take them. And I have an old bicycle I’m not doing anything with. So do you, now. And our skateboards. So it’s not all illegal, I guess. But the illegal stuff is pretty damned illegal.” He checked the rankings for Beacon Hills and grabbed a notepad out of his backpack, scribbling down the totals for everyone and doing the math to figure out how much money, in total, the four of them would need to get their hands on.

“I think we should tell Lydia.” Allison interrupted. “You said she’s really good at math, and she’s popular. She could probably just ask someone for the money and give it to us.” 

“I’m not doing that.” Stiles protested. “We need ninety-one hundred dollars by Friday at five o’clock. So if I sell...” He fell silent, working out the math on the paper in front of him. 

Allison rolled her eyes and got up from the table, motioning for Scott to follow her back out to the hallway. 

“Stiles is going to be pissed when he looks up and realizes we’re gone.” Scott glanced over his shoulder warily, then looked back at Allison. “Are we going to talk to Lydia?” 

“Yes.” Allison said firmly. “Because she’ll help. If Stiles meant nothing to her now, she wouldn’t have sat at the table with us. The things he said to her last night got her attention and when she hears more about him, I think she’s only going to like him even more. What he does about that isn’t my problem. My real problem is making sure that all three of us stay in this, and since it’s important to Stiles that Derek doesn’t lose, my problem becomes keeping all four of us in the game. “I have a few actually legal ideas of my own and I want Lydia to hear them because I think she understands probability much better than any of us do. She’ll be able to tell me what our next move should be.” 

“How do you know all of this?” Scott smiled. “I’m impressed.”

“My parents make me play a lot of strategy games.” Allison shrugged. “I’m not exactly great at them.” She sat down across from Lydia. “Hi, again. I need your help with something.” 

“Finding a better shirt to go with that skirt?” Lydia guessed. “Erica told me that she and Stiles are going shopping after school, and she invited me along. You could come with us.” 

Allison forced a laugh, trying not to get too annoyed with Lydia’s rude comments. She found herself glancing down at her shirt and skirt, wondering what was wrong with wearing them together. “No. I mean, maybe. But that’s not what I came back here for.” She lowered her voice, leaning forward to make sure Erica and Lydia could hear her over the noise around them. “Stiles, Scott and I have to raise about nine thousand dollars by Friday afternoon for this thing we’re doing.” 

“I already told her.” Erica nodded. “She said she has a lot of questions, but I told her to save them for after school. And you forgot to mention Derek.” 

“Also, it’s ninety-one hundred dollars.” Lydia corrected. “I took one look at your totals and figured out how much the four of you would need right away. But I can’t help you. I don’t have that kind of money.” 

“I’m not asking you for the money.” Allison glanced at Scott, who seemed content to stay silent and let her do the talking. She was fine with that, so she kept going. “How do you think we should get it?” 

Lydia tilted her head, giving the question serious thought. “First of all, Matt Daehler doesn’t stand a chance of getting that much money together in a month, nevermind the next few days. You’ll need to find out how much he has left after buying himself his AV geek equipment and what he wants from you in order to hand it over. Meredith Walker is high-strung and might lose her shit if you don’t approach her the right way, so my advice is to leave her alone for now. If you plan to talk to one of the twins, you’d better make sure it’s both of them at the same time. Theo Raeken won’t cooperate with you, but he’ll look for your weaknesses if you get close, so avoid him. And Brett’s reasons for being in this are good, so don’t even try to get his money. Once you’ve taken care of that, come back to me and tell me where you’re at with your totals.” 

Allison felt like she should have been taking notes, and she laughed when she glanced over at Scott and realized he was. “You’re so cute.” She looked up at Lydia and Erica. “I’ll see you and Stiles after school.” She looked around as the bell rang, giving Scott a quick kiss when she spotted Matt. She darted around a few people and caught up to him in the hallway. “Hey, I need to talk to you about the money.” She said bluntly. 

“Shh.” Matt looked around, smirking at Allison when she rolled her eyes. “I don’t like everyone knowing my business.” 

“Everybody in this school knows about the game.” Allison protested. “Anyway, your banked money is barely one-fifth of the total you need by Friday, so I was thinking maybe you’d just... let me have it? In exchange for something. You can decide on the something.” 

Matt gave Allison a slow once-over, frowning at her when she shuddered. “Fine, let’s negotiate. I guess it’s too much to ask for sex?” 

Allison stared blankly back at him. 

“Okay, yeah, that’s too much.” Matt continued. “Then is it too much to ask that you kiss me?”

“I want a thousand dollars, no tongue, and less than three minutes.” Allison folded her arms across her chest. 

“I’ll give you thirteen hundred dollars for tongue and five minutes.” 

“No.” Allison shook her head. “Eleven hundred, four minutes. Still no tongue.” 

Matt smiled like he had somehow lured Allison into a trap. “Consider it done.” 

“Wait. Prove to me that you have the money, first.” Allison demanded, feeling like she was making a huge mistake. She hadn’t talked to Scott, she had just gone ahead and decided this was what she was going to do, and she might lose her boyfriend over it. Still, when Matt pulled up his game bank account on his phone and showed her that he had more than enough to cover what he was saying, she nodded to him.

Matt put a hand on Allison’s shoulder, not wanting to cover any part of her face and risk people not having a clue who he was kissing. He pressed his lips against hers, bringing his other hand up to her lower back and pulling her against him. He felt her hands pressing against his chest and knew it was so that she could push him away, but that didn’t bother him. He blinked in confusion when a ringing alarm went off and Allison stopped kissing him. 

“Four minutes.” Allison smiled proudly. “Give me your money and withdraw from the game right now.” She watched as he started the process to transfer money from his account to hers, taking the phone from him and putting her game account number in, then submitting the transfer. She checked her balance on her own phone, then walked away. 

There was a small crowd gathered at her locker, and she avoided Scott’s gaze as she opened it and got her backpack out. “We only need eight thousand more.” She murmured. 

“Was that the only way?” Scott asked quietly. 

Allison turned to face him. “What do you want me to do, Scott? He started off the negotiation for this by asking me to have sex with him, but he knew there was no way I’d say yes. He feels victorious about conning me, because he would have been out, no matter what. And he knows that. I just feel disgusting.” She gave Lydia a grateful smile when the redhead handed her a small bottle of mouthwash. 

“But you feel disgusting with an extra eleven hundred dollars in your bank account.” Stiles pointed out. “That feeling will go away. If you win, he can’t take that from you.” He turned toward Scott. “You’ve always been my moral compass and you would never do most of the things that I would do, so you don’t understand anyone who would.” 

Erica glanced up from her phone. “I don’t mean to alarm you guys.” She interrupted. “But Theo got to Meredith and convinced her to just give up all of her money and quit the game. If you don’t hurry up and get to the twins before he does, he’s going to be in the lead. He’s already in third place.” 

Lydia looked around, then smiled. “I’ll handle this.” She walked down the hall and spoke to Danny, who followed her to where the twins were standing, near the double doors. 

Stiles watched them, turning toward Erica when the blonde girl cleared her throat. “I’m not interested in her anymore!” He blurted. “I just don’t know what she’s doing and that makes me nervous.” 

“Well, while you were wandering the halls, I was talking to Lydia. She broke up with Jackson right after homeroom.” Erica rolled her eyes at the startled look on Stiles’ face. “She doesn’t _want you._ She just wants to be your friend. She’s probably asking one of the twins out, and she took Danny because the other twin is gay. That’s all it is, okay?” 

Stiles nodded. “Okay. I’m sorry if I’m on your nerves, you know? This is all just weird to me. Last week, I was trying to convince Scott that hoping for first line in lacrosse was a dumb idea and he should let it go. And now I'm the one letting go of dumb ideas and...” 

“And you’re Alice and everything is Wonderland?” Erica guessed. 

“Yeah.” Stiles sighed. “I’m stuck in the Mad Hatter’s tea party and I just want to go home.” 

“Too bad.” Erica smirked. “Shut up, drink the tea, and have a merry fucking unbirthday. What class do you have now?” 

“Math. With Ms. Baker.” Stiles frowned. 

“Me too, so come on. There’s nothing more you can do right now, anyway.” Erica grabbed Stiles’ arm and led him down the hall. 

***

At the end of the school day, Stiles walked outside with Scott, slowing down when he saw Brett Talbot talking to Allison, over by the Jeep. “Do you know anything about this?” 

“No.” Scott muttered. “For all I know, she just finished making out with him, too. Since that’s what she does.” 

“Okay, no?” Stiles shook his head. “First of all, Brett’s gay. Secondly, if you had pried your head out of your ass, you would know what was going on because you wouldn’t be so self-righteous about what Allison’s trying to do. You like her, she really likes you, don’t throw that away just because you’re mad. I mean, okay. Maybe she should have talked to you before she kissed Matt. But she felt like she was backed into a corner and she didn’t have time to check with you. You know what I say about forgiveness and permission, Scott. You can’t be okay with me doing whatever it takes and not be okay with her having that same philosophy.” 

Scott scowled and started walking faster, going past the Jeep and getting on his motorbike. 

“Scott!” Allison called out, frowning. She ran to catch up to him. “Hey, can you please just wait a minute?” 

“Are you going to break up with me?” Scott sat down on the bike and looked up at her. “Because I got jealous?” 

“No. I mean, maybe I would have, but I understand why you did. If you kissed another girl for the same reason I kissed Matt, I’d be pissed off and hurt.” Allison admitted. “But this is still new and I don’t want it to end. Do you?” 

Scott shook his head. “I’m going to be late, though. I have to go work for Deaton. The vet. I’ll see you later, okay?” 

“Okay.” Allison said quietly. She walked back over to the Jeep and got in. “Well, I had good news, but it doesn’t feel so good anymore.” 

Stiles glanced at Erica, then looked at Allison. “Tell us anyway?” 

“Brett quit and gave me his earnings, and then some.” Allison smiled half-heartedly. “So I’m in third place, of five people left. Theo’s last. And we still have four days to go, so he could get that extra money. It’s going to be harder for us, I think. If we were working alone, we would each only need to get whatever amount we’re short on, to reach five thousand dollars. But like this, we’re raising twenty thousand. I don’t want to break this up...” She sniffled, then laughed in embarrassment. “Sorry. I’m trying to do what’s good for our group, and it’s ruining things with Scott. He could barely look at me.” 

“He’ll come around.” Stiles leaned toward Allison and hugged her. “If you need to cry, go for it. Nobody in this Jeep will make fun of you.” After a moment of sitting there and rubbing Allison’s back while she gave in and cried, he spoke again. “Erica, how much more money do we need to hit twenty thousand?” 

“Thirty-four hundred and seventy-five.” Erica handed Allison a packet of tissues. “The parking lot is almost empty. We should probably make sure that Scott doesn’t quit, before we go shopping.” 

Stiles felt sick to his stomach as he spoke. “What if he does?” 

“He shouldn’t.” Allison shook her head. 

“Look, he’s not having fun with this. It’s really bothering him. He’s only staying in it because we are.” Stiles reasoned. “If we tell him it’s okay to drop out, to give us what he’s earned, we’ll be where we need to be and he’ll have money left over.” 

Erica was quiet for a moment, then decided she had to say something. “You’re forgetting one detail, Stiles. Most of what he earned was actually just the retail value of the bike. He can’t help if he quits.” 

Stiles blushed, embarrassed. “Then can we pretend this never came up in conversation?” 

“Done.” Erica and Allison said together. 

“Thank you.” Stiles muttered. “I’ve got my five thousand, so I’m fine for the week. I’ll mow lawns or write papers or whatever else I have to do to get the rest of the money, I don’t care.” He gave Lydia a curious look when she walked over to the Jeep, rolling his window down. “Yeah?” 

Lydia handed Stiles an envelope. “I convinced Brett to talk to Allison, then took care of the rest myself. I don’t know how you deposit cash into your game accounts, but I’m sure you can find a way.” 

Stiles peered into the envelope. “Lydia, I can’t just take your money.” 

“It’s not mine.” Lydia scoffed. “I have the key to Jackson’s house. I told him that if he didn’t give me the amount you need, I’d make copies of his key and give them out, then start telling everyone the embarrassing baby stories that his mom told me about him. He and I ditched last period, so I could drive him to the bank. He wanted to take the Porsche and follow me, but I told him I knew better than to think he’d follow through. He never has been all that great at following through.” 

Stiles grimaced. “Okay, things I really didn’t need to know. Ever. But thank you. I’d kiss you, but you’d slap me.” 

“Yeah.” Lydia agreed. “I would. Allison, do you want to ride over to the mall with me?” 

“Um, sure.” Allison got out of the Jeep and followed Lydia to her car. 

Erica climbed over the center console and sat in Allison’s vacated seat. “I wanted to be in this.” She admitted. “But I just know that some asshole would dare me to go stand in front of a strobe light.” 

Stiles started the Jeep and followed Lydia’s car out of the lot. “If anyone messes with you from now on, tell me. I have proof now that I can and will punch the hell out of people who deserve it. I thought I’d get more crap from people today than I actually did. Harris kept trying to get me pissed off so he could give me detention.” He laughed. “And I just kept saying ‘yes, sir’ and ‘no, sir.’ I’d like to see him try to write me up for that. Anyway, the bright side is that now, we don’t have to worry about the dares for the rest of the week and we can relax.” 

“Sure, now we just have to worry about all of the usual bullshit, like fucktard jackasses dumping soda on me or flashing pen lights at me. Not being allowed to participate in gym and having people say shit about that.” Erica muttered. 

“I think you’re assuming that this week will be like any other week.” Stiles said gently. “But it won’t be. Not ever again. It looks like we’ve got Lydia now. And Allison. And you’ve got me, like I said.” 

“It’s too bad that this is also the week when you figured out you like dick as much as I do.” Erica snorted. “We would have been a great couple.” She gave him a wide smile. “I’m the best person you’re never going to date.” 

“Bite my ass, Erica.” Stiles laughed. “Jesus. You’re supposed to be on my side.” 

“I’m on my own side.” Erica shrugged. “It’s just that you’re around right now.” 

“So you’re, what? The Harley Quinn to my Batman?” Stiles glanced over at her, smiling fondly. 

“No, she’s too crazy and she does whatever the Joker wants her to do. I’m too independent for that. I’m more like... Catwoman.” Erica nodded. “It works, too. I steal stuff all the time. It’s easy to get away with shit like that. I exploit myself for it, but it’s on my terms, not like the assholes that put a video on youtube of me pissing myself during a seizure. People are eager to have you get the fuck out of their store when they think you’re a liability or a lawsuit waiting to happen. If I take some nail polish or lipstick when I get up from the floor, then oh well. It’s their fault for charging crazy prices for it. It’s the same stuff as the drugstore makeup, so unless they had it blessed by unicorns, there’s no reason for it to cost that much.” 

“How do unicorns bless things?” Stiles laughed. 

“They use their horn to stab a virgin and consecrate things in their blood.” Erica said dryly. “I can tie you to a tree and let you see firsthand, if you don’t believe me.” 

“I think I’ll pass on that.” Stiles parked beside Lydia’s car a few minutes later, when his conversation with Erica had lapsed into comfortable silence. He felt a little strange about the fact that he was going to be shopping with the girl he had a waning crush on, and the girl who had openly admitted to having a crush on him. He would have been grateful for Allison to be there as a sort of safety net, but he was pretty sure that her emotional state about Scott was going to make everything a little bit worse. It wasn’t Allison’s fault that things had gone sideways. Thinking of the envelope he had stuffed in the glove box, he called Scott. 

“Yeah, Stiles?” Scott answered, his tone making it clear that he didn’t want to talk. 

“Would you just do the universe a favor and forgive Allison? She wasn’t cheating on you, she didn’t kiss Matt for fun, she did it to get him to drop out of the game and give us the money he earned. He didn’t have to do that, he could have kept it. But she convinced him not to. She’s miserable because she likes you so much.” 

“Can you maybe drop her off at the clinic when you’re done, then?” Scott asked softly. “I really like her, too.” 

“Yeah, I’ll do that. See you later.” Stiles hung up and glanced over at Erica. 

“You’re a giant teddy bear.” Erica grinned and got out of the Jeep. 

Stiles followed behind her, catching up to Lydia and Allison near the entrance to Macy’s. He wondered if Macy’s had a coffee cart, because he knew he was going to need it.

***

Three hours, one gift card, a few bank deposits and a tearful reunion between Scott and Allison later, Stiles had somehow convinced Lydia to drop her car off at home and get into the Jeep with him and Erica, to go to the tattoo parlor. He wasn’t even sure the place had a name; there was a neon sign in the window that told passers-by ‘Tattoos’, and that was it. He thought about texting Derek, but decided it wasn’t a very good idea, since he had no idea what to say. He didn’t think ‘hey, remember that time you kissed me last night and then drove off like you couldn’t wait to get away from me’ would be the best conversation starter. Instead, he cleared his throat and spoke to the guy behind the counter, who had tattooed him the night before. “Hey, uh...” Stiles’ gaze fell on the stack of business cards in front of him. “Marcus? Do you ever give tattoos to people with epilepsy?” 

“A couple of times, sure.” Marcus nodded. He looked at Erica. “I’m guessing that’s you?” 

“Is it that obvious?” Erica snapped. 

“Well, it might piss you off, but yeah.” Marcus smiled. “You’re not as put together as Red over here, and I don’t think your friend would be asking if he didn’t plan on following that up with asking me to give one of you a tattoo.” 

“I have a name. It’s Lydia.” Lydia glared at Stiles, as though it was his fault that Marcus was kind of a dick. 

“I want a Catwoman tattoo.” Erica held her phone up to show the image on her screen to Marcus. “Like this. How much is that going to cost?” 

“I’ll give you a discount for the referral and another one because it’s been slow today.” Marcus offered. “So I can do that one for about twenty bucks.” 

Erica beamed. “Great.” She sat down and took off one of her shoes, then her sock. “I want it right here, on my ankle.” 

Lydia wandered off to look at the books full of artwork, a curious expression on her face. “Would I also get a discount?” She called out. 

“Yeah, I can do that for you. But just this once, and not for anyone else.” Marcus was already drawing a design for Erica’s tattoo.

Stiles walked over to Lydia. Their shopping excursion hadn’t given them much of a chance to talk, since the extent of their conversation had been ‘go try this on,’ and ‘not that one.’ “I never thought of you as the sort of person who wanted a tattoo.” 

“Wouldn’t you have said that same thing about yourself, two days ago?” Lydia pointed out. “Allison has never had purple hair before, but now she does. Maybe I’m too late to sign up for a game of dares that I actually find pointless, but I don’t need someone telling me when and how to be bold. I can do that for myself. I'm single now, and the only person I have to worry about upsetting is me. If I want a tattoo, I’m going to get one, damn it.” She quickly flipped past a picture of a woman’s tattooed breasts, then frowned to herself and turned the page back. “Oh, she must have had breast cancer.” She murmured. “The tattoos were to cover the scars. That’s actually interesting.” She looked up at Stiles. “I suppose it won’t surprise you to learn that I’m good at art.” When Stiles shook his head, Lydia smiled faintly. “I like tattoos, but it’s not something I thought I would ever indulge myself in. Jackson and his family have a certain set standard for what they believe is appropriate and what’s not, and I thought he and I would stay in the same region for college. Harvard for him and MIT for me. I guess you and I aren’t very different, since I had a life plan to marry him and live in the Hamptons.” She smiled ruefully. “But I realized last night, after you showed up and yelled at me, that I never would have been happy to pretend for the rest of my life that I’m barely clearing three digits on the IQ scale. Now I’m free to do whatever I want, and I want a tattoo.” She gave Stiles a concerned look when the noise of the tattoo gun made him even more pale than usual. She glanced toward Erica and Marcus, then grabbed Stiles’ hand and led him outside. “Are you all right?” 

“I actually really freaking hate needles.” Stiles blurted, taking a deep breath and leaning back against the brick wall. “It’s not as bad now that I know I can handle getting a tattoo, but the noise is just... I get anxious and want to throw up.” 

“But you’re not as scared today as you were yesterday?” Lydia asked carefully, her head tilted. 

“No, I guess not.” Stiles stood up straight. “Why? What are you thinking?” 

“I”m thinking that you should get a job, answering his phone and scheduling appointments.” Lydia smiled. “And once I show him my artwork, I’m confident that he’ll work out a deal with me for a summer internship. It’s definitely unconventional, but that’s going to get me attention from college recruiters. You can conquer your fear while I do whatever he’ll have me doing.” 

“How did I go from not talking to you at all, to you deciding that we’re going to spend all summer together?” Stiles smiled back at her. “Not that I’m complaining.” 

“Of course not.” Lydia laughed. “You stay here, I’m going back in.” She patted his cheek playfully and walked away. 

Stiles thought about Lydia’s explanation that she wanted to do something bold, and he got his phone out of his pocket, sending Derek a text. ‘I want to talk about last night and the kiss. I’m not doing anything right now. Call me?’ Almost immediately after he sent the text, he got a response and smiled to himself, lifting the phone to read Derek’s reply. What he saw made his blood run cold.

_This phone number has been disconnected._


	5. Wednesday

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: This chapter contains a brief discussion of an alleged suicide, but there are no details about how it happened.

**M. Stilinski ..... $5000  
A. Argent ..... $5000  
S. McCall ..... $5000  
T. Raeken ..... $4180**

Stiles applied lotion to his tattoo during lunch on Wednesday, handing the bottle to Lydia, who spread a glob of lotion over the green vine tattoo that wrapped its way around her right forearm and bicep, ending in a group of leaves that spread over her shoulder. 

Lydia glanced up at Stiles, smiling at him as she handed the lotion over to Erica. “I’m guessing you still haven’t heard from Derek? You would have told us if you had, wouldn’t you?” 

“Yeah.” Stiles murmured. “He’s not even on the board anymore. I got up early as hell and drove out to the old Hale house, and he’s not there, either. I don’t have the first clue where he’s been staying. I’d ask my dad to look into it, but I figure if Derek went as off the grid as he’s going to get, he did it for a reason. He must have really hated that dare they gave him, so he’s avoiding me so hard that he didn’t want to play the game anymore. Or he quit to avoid more dares like it, which is kind of the same thing.” 

“I realize I didn’t know Derek, but I watched the videos on Monday after Erica told me about them, and I have every reason to think he’s interested in you. His apology for kissing you was most likely because he thought you wouldn’t want to kiss him, that it being a dare ruined it for him. I checked for the videos today, and they’re all gone. But so are the ones for Meredith, Brett, Aiden and Ethan. Whoever runs this game, they really don’t want to leave a trace of it behind longer than necessary.” Lydia gave Stiles a concerned look. 

“If you want to find Derek, there are other ways.” Erica suggested. “You’re thinking like a rejected boy with a crush. Don’t think like an angsty teen, think like a cop or a criminal. How would they find Derek?”

Stiles smiled crookedly, not so sure he liked Erica’s summarization of his behavior. “A cop would run Derek’s license plate, check traffic cameras, and put out an APB.” 

“And if you were a criminal?” Lydia prompted. 

“Find the car myself and stick a tracking device on it.” Stiles mused. “Hack his phone or his laptop and check his search history, see if he rented a hotel room or booked a flight or a train or, I don’t know, a bus? Tell some mutual contacts that I have something. Or that I know something. Whatever it takes to draw him out and get him to come find me, so we can talk. But that’s a lot of work just to ask him what the deal was with him leaving in a hurry after he kissed me. And it’s probably not worth it because if I mattered to him, he wouldn’t have gone full radio silence on me.” 

Allison sat down across the table from Stiles. She grinned at Scott as her boyfriend sat beside her. “I just want to thank you again for talking both of us through that fight.” She wrinkled her nose. “Why do you look so upset? Wait. You still haven’t heard from Derek?” 

Stiles shook his head. “But I’m trying not to dwell on it, which would be easier if the freaking Rogues Gallery would stop reminding me.” He ignored Erica’s raised middle fingers. “I have a bad feeling about all of it. But if he doesn’t want to be found, why try to find him?” 

“Because you deserve answers.” Scott said gently. “You can’t tell me to talk to Allison and think about what she was hoping to accomplish and then turn around and decide not to make Derek explain himself.” 

“Aww.” Allison smiled, leaning against Scott. “How are you going to find him?” 

“I’m going to talk to Danny and see if he can help me hack into the traffic cameras.” Stiles murmured. “I know he can do it, he got busted for hacking into some things when we were thirteen, and nobody around here ever updates their systems.” He got up from the table and walked across the cafeteria, sitting down across from Danny. 

“Get the fuck out of here, Stilinski.” Jackson snapped. 

“I’m not here to see you, as much as that might hurt your fragile ego.” Stiles muttered. “Danny. I know things about you. Things from when you were thirteen. I need your help.” 

“WIth what, finding your dick?” Jackson interjected. 

Stiles turned his head slowly, smirking at Jackson. “Lydia already gave me a copy of the key to your house and told me where the pictures are of you from when you were three. You know which ones I mean?” When Jackson swallowed roughly and nodded, Stiles grinned. “Good. Now shut the fuck up and let the adults have a conversation.” He turned back to Danny. “Come over to my house after school, okay? Do you need the address?” 

“No, I’ve got it already. But I can’t help you, despite you nagging me for assistance about thirty times.” Danny looked apologetic. “I’m sorry. I want to, but I wouldn’t dare risk my chance at getting into an Ivy League school, like MIT. And for your sake, you should just wait and hope.” He stood up and grabbed his backpack. “And never mention this again.” 

Stiles stared after Danny in disbelief, not bothering to acknowledge Jackson’s insults as the other teen grabbed his own backpack and hurried to catch up to Danny. He sat there for a moment, then got up and walked back over to his own table. 

“What did he say?” Lydia demanded. “Is he going to help us?” 

Stiles thought over Danny’s words again. He shook his head. “No, he said he can’t. Lydia, do the words ‘wait and hope’ mean anything to you at all?” 

“Yeah, it’s from The Count of Monte Cristo.” Lydia pressed her lips together, then grimaced and started going through her purse to find her lip gloss. “We’re reading it for Honors English. Why?” 

“Because Danny told me that you can help me figure this out without his help, and it has something to do with that book.” Stiles explained. “So tell me what the book is about. I don’t have time to read it.” 

“Make time.” Lydia protested. “What else could you possibly have to-” She frowned at Stiles when he shook his head at her. “Fine. It’s about a man who was falsely imprisoned and how he sets out to get revenge on the three men who conspired against him. I don’t see what that has to do with Danny.” 

“Not Danny.” Stiles murmured, lost in thought. “Derek. I don’t suppose you can convince Jackson to open Danny’s locker for you? Just tell him you’re giving Danny some notes you took for class, and check his locker for the book. You probably won’t see anything suspicious until you open it. Page thirty, I’m guessing.” 

“I’ll go do that right now.” Lydia nodded, getting up from the table and walking away to find Jackson.

“I think you should tell your dad.” Scott frowned. “I don’t like this. I’m going to drop out of it. I won’t do whatever their next dare is for me. If Derek’s in some kind of trouble, and Danny won’t even talk about it because he’s scared, that’s dangerous. You told me last weekend that you would go to your dad if I was in danger. But now you might be, if you keep playing.” 

“Scott.” Stiles sighed. “If Derek’s really in danger, going to my dad is only going to make it more likely that when the cops do show up, they’re going to find a corpse. This is something I’m just going to have to handle without my dad’s help. It’s not like I like the idea, all right? But what else can I do?” 

Allison gave Scott an apologetic smile, then looked over at Stiles. “What can I do to help?” 

“Find me that article or news broadcast. The one that made you decide to play this game and see if you could get more information about the guy who lost his sister.” Stiles stared down at his plate, squinting. “I’m not sure this food is edible today. I should start bringing my own lunch.” 

“You would just bring Reese’s Cups and curly fries.” Scott laughed. “This food is at least healthier than that.” 

“You want me to teach you how to cook? Then shut up.” Stiles knew he was reacting too harshly, and he didn’t want to hurt Scott’s feelings. “Sorry. This whole thing has me on edge. There are only four of us left now and if you quit on Friday, then it’s just me and Allison against Theo, which means shit is going to get a lot harder, and fast.” 

“Well, I can’t keep playing.” Scott shook his head. “If you’re both right and the game creators are killing people, and now Derek is missing? That’s not something I want any part of. With everything going on last Monday, you and I both forgot about lacrosse tryouts. Coach asked me about it yesterday and I wasn’t sure what to say, at first. I know I’ll never make first line or even play, and it was just taking time that I could be spending at the clinic. And it’s not like you ever really gave a shit about it. So I just said that we both decided not to play this year. Let Jackson have his stupid team. When he’s forty and divorced three times and going bald, this won’t even matter.” 

Stiles laughed. “Please tell me you actually said that last part to Finstock.” 

“I did.” Scott grinned, then sighed. “But I’d rather be sitting on the bench than caught up in a possible murder investigation. I take back everything I said last weekend. I want my boring, mundane life back.” 

“Sucks for you.” Erica muttered. “I’d say ‘at least your own body isn’t attacking itself,’ but it is, because you have severe asthma. I think tonight, all I’m going to do is curl up with my laptop and watch the videos for the top-ranking people in the rest of the country.” 

Stiles shook his head. “There shouldn’t be anyone top-ranking, at this point. Only lower ranks, because there’s a five thousand dollar cap on everyone. What kills me is that Derek made it to five thousand dollars before he quit. He could have saved us some trouble by quitting _before_ Lydia blackmailed Jackson.” 

“You’d think that, but the speed that people managed to reach five thousand dollars is what gave them rankings.” Erica got her phone out of her backpack and opened the app, looking up the national rankings for Stiles. “The game started with forty-five thousand players and a hundred and fifty thousand observers. It’s been four days and there are...” She looked at the totals on the main screen. “Thirty-two thousand players and two hundred thousand observers. Nationally, you are ranked nineteen thousand, two hundred and eight.” She held the phone between herself and Stiles, showing him the listings. "The dare submissions are still pouring in. They’re being accepted and rejected, depending on what they are, but nothing is going to be released until Friday at five o’clock. So the only thing left to do now is...” Erica shrugged. 

“Homework.” Stiles muttered. “Scott, you should get Lydia to tutor you, since I’m going to be kind of busy with this. It’s probably good that you’re quitting. I wish you wouldn’t, but it’s not like I can do shit about that. If I look into it enough, I can find Derek before Friday. After that, I have no idea what they’re going to expect me to do.” 

“We’ll find him.” Allison waved a hand to get Stiles’ attention when he seemed like he was a thousand miles away. “Stiles. We’ll find Derek.” 

***

After dinner that night, Stiles heard a knock on his door and opened it, blinking in surprise at Lydia. “What are you doing here? I mean, not that I’m not glad to see you... but what are you doing here?” 

“Your dad let me in.” Lydia rolled her eyes and pushed past Stiles, sitting down in his desk chair. “It took me until the end of lacrosse practice to track Jackson down and convince him to open Danny’s locker. I probably could have just asked Danny, but he wasn’t there. As it turns out, he quit lacrosse, too. That doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to me. Danny probably loves lacrosse more than Jackson does. Jackson’s only really been playing it to get his parents’ approval.” She shook her head. “I know you hate him, Stiles. But there’s a lot more to Jackson than you could understand. It’s just that for me, the bad was beginning to outweigh the good, but there _are_ good things about him.” She opened her purse and took a brochure out of it, holding it out to Stiles. “This was in his book, on page thirty. Right where you said it would be. How did you know?” 

Stiles took the brochure, but he didn’t look at it. “Danny told me off for bothering him ‘thirty times’ and asking him for help. The thing is, I’ve only had maybe two conversations with Danny since the school year started. The first one was ‘hey, can you keep your dickhead best friend from trying to start shit with my asthmatic, overly-optimistic best friend?’ and the second was today. I exaggerate a lot, and so does Jackson. Danny doesn’t. So when he said ‘thirty’ and then started talking about Ivy League schools and MIT, I knew he wanted me to ask you for help, instead. Besides, everybody knows Danny wants to go to Caltech.” He looked down at the paper in his hands and frowned. “This is an Argent Industries thing. Why would he have this?” 

“I was hoping you could tell me that. I already looked up their website and it’s just a bunch of product descriptions. They make guns, but they also make school lockers, safes and walk-in freezers for restaurants. A few other things, too. There was an article about them getting a contract with a few hospitals for the sale of surgical screws. It seemed boring to me, but it’s not the sort of thing that Danny would ever show an interest in.” 

“Can you go home and call Allison?” Stiles looked around the room. “I have to do something. Tell her to get a big United States map and bring it to your house for the project you two have in history, just in case someone’s listening. When she gets to your house, leave your cell phone and have her leave _her_ cell phone in your room and drive her and the map back over here. I should have everything else ready, by then.” 

“What’s going on?” Lydia demanded. “Are you in danger? Is Allison?” 

“I can’t tell you until I know what’s going on, myself. I don’t think so, and I don’t know. Those are your answers, in order.” Stiles pulled his bed away from the wall and started moving his headboard as Lydia left the room. He could hear his dad saying goodbye to Lydia down the hall and locking the front door behind her when she left, but Stiles was too focused on clearing the space on one wall to acknowledge his father. 

About an hour later, Stiles’ room was a mess, but he made no apologies to the girls when they came in, along with Erica and Scott. He used thumbtacks to pin the map to the wall, then turned toward Allison, handing her a piece of paper. ‘I want you to come start putting green pins in every place you’ve lived for the past ten years, and then take a post-it and write the month and year you lived in that place. Then stick it on the map, under the pin.’

Allison read the note, hesitating before she spoke in a whisper. “That’s a lot of work. Your map is going to be covered in green pins and post-its by the time I’m done.” 

“That’s fine.” Stiles shrugged. “Go ahead and get started.” He turned toward Erica and Scott. “You two, come with me.” He walked down to the basement, where he had his laptop plugged in and playing a tv series on Netflix. He held his hands out for their cell phones, setting them down beside his own and putting his finger over his lips before he walked back up the stairs.

Erica followed at a sedate pace, waiting until they were in the living room and Stiles was out of earshot before she tugged Scott’s sleeve to get his attention. “I think your friend has gone off the rails.” 

“I don’t know.” Scott frowned after Stiles. “I’m trying to think of any other time he’s been like this, and there was just one. When we were ten, he drove everyone nuts with insisting that the Hale house fire couldn’t have been faulty electrical wiring. It’s like, where Derek’s involved, Stiles is kind of prone to losing his shit? But the arson investigator said it wasn’t a set blaze. His dad - I’m not supposed to know this, so please don’t ever tell him. I’m not even sure Stiles knows about it. But I heard his dad talking to my mom, after Stiles wouldn’t drop it. He thought Stiles might have dementia, like his mom did. Or some other thing. Schizophrenia or paranoia, or both? Whatever the clinical term is.” 

Erica sighed. “Of course I end up liking someone insane. That figures.” 

“He’s not insane!” Scott snapped. “He’s just... he gets ideas in his head and he won’t ever let go. He keeps saying that half of our classmates are evil incarnate, and he’s not just throwing it around, he actually believes that they are. So he’s kind of messed up, but he’s not insane. He just doesn’t see the world the way we do, but neither do people with color-blindness, you know?” 

“Scott, there’s a big difference between not knowing if something is gray or red, and thinking you’re some kind of holy version of the scales of justice.” Erica murmured. “I can’t believe I thought it was hot that he sees himself as Batman, but I didn’t realize how absolutely true it is, not just some sort of a joke to him. I’m thirsty. Are you?” 

Scott blinked at the abrupt subject change. “Yeah. Why?” 

“Because going too long without drinking causes dehydration.” Lydia answered for Erica as she joined them in the living room. 

“No, I meant why are you changing the subject?” Scott asked Erica, even though Lydia was the one who had spoken. His head was starting to hurt. “You just said you like Stiles and then you said he was crazy and now you’re talking about water?” 

“Is there really any point in me wasting my time on someone in need of antipsychotic medication?” Erica shook her head. “I want to get out of here. I’m getting my phone and going.” She looked at Lydia. “If you’re as smart as Stiles thinks you are, you’ll leave, too.” 

Lydia cleared her throat. “I’m not leaving. I don’t think you should go, either. But if that’s what you want, nobody is going to stop you.” 

“You didn’t even know who he was until Sunday night!” Erica blurted. “Why do you trust him so implicitly already? Even Scott is having doubts.” 

Lydia’s gaze shifted toward Scott, then she looked back at Erica. “My father and mother knew my behavior before I was born. The average person has no memories of life before age two, but their parents can already see personality traits and signs of how intelligent their child is. Somehow, despite me reading everything I could reach from the time I was three, they both decided that I was stupid. My grades have always been exemplary. Higher levels of intelligence have proven to go hand-in-hand with insanity, which I will admit to exhibiting some symptoms of, myself. It’s entirely possible that Stiles is having a mental breakdown, but not a debilitating one. That being said, if you’re going to sit around and judge him for anything he says or does tonight, you’re better off leaving. He doesn’t need that. He needs people who are willing to listen. I don’t trust him implicitly. But I want to hear what he has to say and make my own decisions about it.”

“Fine. I’ll be in the basement, actually watching the show that Stiles wants his cell phone to watch for him.” Erica muttered.

Lydia turned toward Scott when Erica walked away. “Well, what about you?” 

“Why _did_ Stiles put our cell phones downstairs, by his laptop?” Scott looked confused. “What is that even going to do?” 

“It’s possible that the app has a code in it that can turn cell phones into the same sort of technology that goes into a baby monitor.” Lydia explained. “So they could be listening to anything we say. And Stiles signed up for the game on his laptop, which immediately pulled information from his social media accounts and could have easily hacked into his webcam. Erica being downstairs with the laptop is actually a good idea, because if they - whoever they are - decide to take a peek at what’s going on, they’ll at least see her. It might be a good idea for you to go watch with her, in fact.” 

“Does this mean none of us are safe?” Scott asked, terrified. “They really are out to get us?” 

“I hope not.” Lydia sighed. “But at this point, I don’t see any other explanation.” She watched him get bottles of water from Stiles’ fridge, then go downstairs to keep Erica company, before she went back down the hall to Stiles’ bedroom. 

Stiles glanced up at Lydia from where he was sitting on his bed, reading over the article that Allison had given him, as the brunette kept putting pins in the map. He froze when Lydia sat beside him and started reading over his shoulder, but he moved the paper to make it easier on her. 

“Thanks.” Lydia murmured. “Are we looking at two different cases here, or just one? What do you think?” 

Stiles gave Lydia a grateful smile. “I’m not sure yet.” He admitted. “The guy that lost his sister was in New York, but that was toward the end of the last game cycle. See, they have a six month limit, but that doesn’t mean that each game lasts the entire six months, and it was Thanksgiving weekend when the girl allegedly committed suicide. The winter holidays are kind of known to be when suicide rates increase, so it’s not entirely impossible that she fell victim to that. I would say I have no idea what her name is, but I’m not so sure I believe in coincidence and everything else seems like it lines up.” He looked up at the map that Allison was finally done decorating with green thumbtacks and yellow notes, then got to his feet and walked toward it, the article already forgotten on the bed. “You were in Kansas in December of two thousand and five?” He glanced at Allison. 

“Yeah, why?” Allison looked over at Lydia for clarification, but the redhead shook her head in response to the unspoken question. 

“No reason.” Stiles sighed, his shoulders slumping. “I thought I had it figured out and I don’t.” He rubbed his eyes. “Um, at the risk of sounding like a rude asshole, can you guys just get out of here?” 

“We’ll go back to my house.” Lydia said gently. “That’s where our cell phones are, and we don’t want to be seen in the basement, do we?” 

Stiles shook his head. “No, you don’t.” He agreed. “Thanks. And thanks for telling Erica and Scott to back the hell off. We heard everything they said. Erica’s not exactly quiet on her best days, but sound carries in here.” 

“Somebody had to.” Lydia murmured. “It might as well have been me.” 

Allison hugged Stiles. “We’ll see you at school tomorrow. I’m going to tell my parents I’m staying at Lydia’s for the night, since our project is just going to run later than expected. What should I say if they ask me for details about it?” 

“Tell them you’re doing a study on population decline.” Lydia said quickly. “We’ll work out more details on it at my house.” 

Allison laughed. ‘You’re actually going to write up a report, aren’t you?” 

“Yes.” Lydia smiled. She hesitated, then hugged Stiles. “You be careful tonight, okay?” 

“Okay.” Stiles nodded. “I’ll see you tomorrow at school.” He sat back down on his bed and stared at the map, listening as everyone walked up and down the stairs, calling goodbyes out to his father as they left. He knew it wouldn’t be much longer before his dad showed up in his doorway, and he was right. 

Noah studied the map on Stiles’ wall. “If we knocked that one out, we could use it to strain spaghetti.” He remarked. “Stiles, what the hell are you working on?” 

“Don’t pretend you didn’t hear already.” Stiles glanced up at his father. 

“I heard some, but not all of it.” Noah frowned. “Want to give me details?” 

“If I say ‘not really,’ will you go away and forget everything you heard?” Stiles looked hopeful. 

“I think you know me better than that.” Noah leaned against one side of the doorframe and folded his arms across his chest. “How dangerous are we talking, right now?” 

“Remember how I kept trying to tell everyone that the Hale house was an arson?” Stiles stood up. “This is a slightly-altered variation of that. I can’t prove it yet, but I know I’m missing something.” He studied the map for a long moment, then took a few Polaroids before he began yanking thumbtacks out of the map and taking papers off, until all that remained were the pins in Kansas in January of two thousand and five, New York in November of two thousand and ten, and San Francisco in December of the same year. “Okay, these are the ones I want to focus on the most, right now. If the others matter, I can put them back later.” He turned around and picked up the brochure and the article, handing them to his dad. “This was in Danny’s book, where he specifically told me to find it. And this article is about a guy who thinks his sister was murdered in New York. There’s no way to prove it yet, but I think that guy was Derek Hale, and the murdered sister was Laura. I’m not sure why he would play a game that was created by people who murdered her, but maybe he didn’t have a choice. Maybe he was forced to do it.” 

“That’s a lot of maybes, son.” Noah said gently, eyeing the papers in his hands before he looked back up at Stiles. “I want you to stop looking for crimes to solve and worry about your homework. And this game? You’re going to quit playing it. I want you to delete that app and leave it alone.” 

“Dad-” Stiles protested. 

“No, Stiles. This is like last summer, when you got bored and tried to convince me that the Walmart greeters were performing satanic rituals. You remember that?” 

“They were buying chicken feet from the butcher!” Stiles snapped. “It’s not my fault you don’t believe me.” 

“No, but it’s going to be your fault if your grades drop because you’re chasing after criminals you made up to keep yourself and Scott entertained.” Noah shook his head. “Put your bed back where it was and go to bed. You can clean this mess up in the morning, before school.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> More dares coming in the next chapter, observers!


	6. The End

**19,208 ..... M. Stilinski ..... $5000  
19,211 ..... A. Argent ..... $5000  
19,215 ..... S. McCall ..... $5000  
29,438 ..... T. Raeken ..... $5000**

Despite his dad insisting on him deleting the app, Stiles hadn’t been able to bring himself to do that. He had spent Thursday at lunch ignoring Erica and Scott, even when Erica had tried pelting him with french fries to get him to talk to her. He had to give them both credit for sitting at the table with him on Friday, though. 

“Five hours left.” Scott said glumly. “And then what?” 

“I have a plan.” Stiles murmured. “And a lot to talk about. Did you happen to see Danny in homeroom today?” 

“No, and I’m worried about it.” Lydia admitted as she sat down beside Stiles. “But I have a party to host tonight. I already invited everyone, before I knew about any of this. I can’t just cancel now.” 

“No, it’ll be good.” Stiles assured Lydia. “I might even drop by, if I’m invited?” 

“You’re all invited.” Lydia said quickly, looking around the table. “What sort of plan do you have?” 

“Scott’s planning to drop out of the game. Since dropping out means that you’re probably going to be targeted, we need to monitor you.” Stiles looked across the table at his best friend. “You know how to insert a tracking chip into animals, right?” 

“Yeah, it’s easy, you just... you want me to chip myself?” Scott blurted. “Oh god, Stiles. This is going too far. Your paranoia is just... it’s too much, man. I know you think Laura was murdered and that Derek is probably dead somewhere. Your dad was talking to my mom about medication for how weird you’re getting. I didn’t say anything yesterday because you weren’t bringing it up, but I’m not installing a tracking device on myself.” 

“I will.” Allison blurted. “Scott, I’d say lighten up, but that’s the opposite of what I think you should do. Stop brushing this aside. It makes sense.” She looked over at Stiles. “Lydia and I were going over it last night, trying to figure out why it was so important to create a timeline of where I lived and when. You think my family is involved in what happened to that woman, and you think that woman was Laura Hale, right? And Derek’s gone, and now Danny is, too. It could be possible that Laura committed suicide, Derek is just avoiding you, and Danny has a cold. But how likely is that?” 

“Not very.” Erica said quietly. “Stiles, I’m sorry. It just seemed easier to believe that you were crazy than that some corporation is murdering a bunch of people and they’ve never been caught.” 

“It’s fine.” Stiles muttered.

“It’s not.” Lydia protested. “We need to find Danny, and for that, we probably need Jackson’s help. I know you don’t like it, but I don’t care. I’m getting him involved.” She got up from the table and walked across the cafeteria. 

“You really think I’m going to be targeted when I refuse to do the dare they give me?” Scott frowned. 

“Yeah, but like I said, if we can track you, we can find you. And it’s not like you’re going out of your way to do this, you’ll be at the clinic, anyway. Deaton leaves you there by yourself half the time, right? If he leaves you there tonight, you can just do it. Otherwise, I’ll send Lydia in with Prada and you can insert the chip while Deaton’s busy. Please do this for me.” Stiles blurted. “You think my paranoia is bad now? Imagine how much worse it would be if you disappeared and I couldn’t find you.” 

“It’s not paranoia if they’re really out to get you.” Allison reached for Scott’s hand, turning her head to kiss him. “Like I said, I’m getting one, too. I don’t think my family is involved in this, but maybe it’s not my family at all, maybe it’s just Argent Industries? We have a lot of people in charge of different locations and I swear my parents would never do something to hurt anyone, never mind try to kill someone.” 

Lydia sat back down, pulling the chair out beside her and looking up at Jackson. “Sit down.” 

Jackson complied, but he was scowling. “You dipshits think that Danny’s been kidnapped, just because he didn’t show up for school? Maybe he ditched or maybe he’s sick.” 

“Or maybe you should listen, for once.” Lydia said evenly, then proved that she had spent the past week hanging out with Erica Reyes. “You whiny little bitch.” 

Erica beamed at Lydia. “I am so proud of you!” 

“Okay.” Stiles spoke just loudly enough to be heard by everyone at the table. “Danny’s the only person we know who has the skill to hack into things, which means he can also set up websites that have much better security, because he knows what works and what doesn’t. He got in trouble for hacking into a bank here in town when we were all thirteen.” 

“Yeah, so?” Jackson muttered. 

“So...” Stiles rolled his eyes. “Hackers don’t go after bank accounts with two dollars in them, they want a bigger payout than that. Argent Industries has locations all over the world and the bank accounts to prove that they’re making a lot of sales. I’m amateur at best myself, but I know how to read, for fuck’s sake. My dad’s files show that no other accounts were hit. It was one of the first questions that the detectives asked Lydia’s dad.” 

Lydia blinked. “You investigated my dad?” 

“I investigated the bank.” Stiles corrected. “And it didn’t take too long for Danny to get caught. The bank was going to press charges, but it looks like they got paid off - by Argent Industries. I was up all night, trying to figure it out. And then, after I realized that the company gave the bank hush money, I drove over here at like, two o’clock in the morning and checked Danny’s attendance records. I didn’t get anywhere with that.” He made a face, embarrassed. “I forgot that they start in January and July, which is kind of perfect because Danny doesn’t have to miss school before a game launch.” 

“How much sleep did you get last night?” Scott frowned. 

“None.” Stiles smiled sheepishly. “I can sleep for a couple of hours when I get home, wake up and do the dare they give me, and put my app on time-out.” 

“Wait, you’re all actually serious?!” Jackson blurted. “You think Danny’s been kidnapped? Stiles, call your dad. You’re not a fucking cop.” 

“Rule number one of the game, don’t get the police involved.” Stiles muttered. “Besides, I tried to tell him and he told me I needed to quit making up bullshit to entertain myself. Anything I say now, he’s just going to ignore it. We’re going to have to do this without help.” He sighed when Jackson looked even angrier. “Look, if Danny’s been missing for twenty-four hours, his parents will call my dad and someone will probably ask you if you saw him today and you’ll say no, and _absolutely nothing_ about the game. I mean it, if you say one word, you’re only going to get them investigating Allison’s family’s company and they’ll find out who mentioned them. It’s not even one o’clock, and we won’t know until five what our next move is, other than the trackers. And yes, Scott. I’ll get one, too.” 

Scott looked relieved. “Okay, good. But we have to register each one to an owner.” 

“I’ll be the owner.” Lydia offered. “Register them as Pongo, Perdita and Cujo.” She smirked at Stiles. 

Jackson scowled as he watched his ex-girlfriend flirting with Stiles, but he was surprised when Stiles didn’t trip over himself, the way Jackson had expected him to. 

“What if Allison’s parents... or whoever’s doing this... starts bugging you about your pets?” Scott frowned. 

“I’ve already got that in mind. I’ll get puppies at Deaton’s today while you three are doing what you have to do.” Lydia smiled. “Prada needs someone to play with, anyway.” 

“When did you five become Power Rangers?” Jackson snapped, looking around at them. 

“We’re Power Rangers?” Stiles repeated, blinking. 

“You know what I mean. It’s like you’re a team.” Jackson frowned at Stiles. “And somehow, you’re in charge of it.” 

“Well, it’s probably because I’m Batman.” Stiles grinned. 

“With that piece of shit Jeep?” Jackson scoffed. A few seconds later, he was on the floor, staring dazedly up at Stiles, who was leaning over the table and glaring down at him. The rest of the cafeteria had gone silent.

“That _piece of shit Jeep_ belonged to my mother, you fucking asshole.” Stiles seethed. “Don’t talk about things you don’t understand.” 

“Okay.” Allison muttered. “Lydia, how far ahead are you in your classes?” 

Lydia smiled proudly. “I won’t have homework again until February.” 

“Great. Drive Stiles home, please? And wake him up at four-thirty.” Allison sighed. 

Stiles was too tired and too angry to argue. He followed Lydia from the cafeteria, surprised when Erica caught up to them. “You’re coming with us?” 

“Yeah, because if Lydia’s stuck playing babysitter, she should at least have someone she can talk to.” Erica shrugged. “And I hate school, anyway. Even though it’s gotten better this week. Mostly.” 

***

At five o’clock, Stiles was in an exam room in Deaton’s clinic, trying not to rub the underside of his right arm, where the tracker had been injected. Scott had already warned him that it could move around if he wasn’t careful, and the idea of it ending up behind one of his eyes made him feel sick to his stomach. He was pretty sure that wasn’t what Scott had meant, but that was where his mind had wandered. When three of the six phones went off at once, Stiles looked down at the table to read over the messages.

_Steal a car and drive to Argent Industries in San Francisco. Do this and earn $25,000._

_Steal sedatives from the hospital and leave them in the walk-in freezer at the diner where you met Allison Argent. You’ll earn $25,000._

_Steal the files on the Hale house fire from the police station and leave them in your Jeep. Do this and get paid $25,000._

Stiles’ jaw clenched and he looked up at Scott and Allison. “Well, fuck them if they think they’re getting sedatives, then. Every dare is designed to make us have to hurt our parents, and none of them deserve that. Not to mention that all of these dares just screw us over.” 

“What are you thinking?” Scott asked softly. 

“I’m thinking that when Allison steals a car, she’s going to steal your mom’s.” Stiles said quickly. “Because I can stay behind and explain to it all to Melissa, so she won’t press charges against Allison. You’re going with her.” He told Scott. “And then as soon as we track you to Argent Industries, Lydia’s going to call and pretend to be hysterical, insisting that she managed to track her stolen puppies to a facility she heard does testing on animals.” 

“What about you? Are you going to steal the files?” Jackson frowned. “Won’t your dad kick the crap out of you for that?” 

“He would, sure. If I had any plan to follow through. I don’t. I’m going to take the folders, replace them with new ones, and stuff the old ones full of copies of every article I can get my hands on that might tie back to the game and people going missing or being found dead. The arson investigation will be somewhere in there too, but if they think that’s the only stack of evidence I’m putting together, they’re wrong.” Stiles shook his head. “Jackson, go home and get ready for the party, but tell your parents that you’ve been trying to call Danny all afternoon and he hasn’t been answering his phone, and he wasn’t at school. Say you don’t want to go over there because if he’s sick, it might be contagious, but you’re starting to worry.” 

Jackson looked like he would rather do anything else but listen to Stiles, but he nodded and walked outside to his car. 

“What about me?” Erica murmured. “Do you have anything for me to do?” 

“Yes.” Stiles hugged Scott and Allison goodbye, then turned back toward Erica when they were gone. “You’re going to steal Harris’ car.” 

Erica laughed. “Okay! But why?” 

“Because Melissa’s not reporting her car stolen.” Stiles explained. “But Harris will. If these people are monitoring everyone playing, everywhere they play? They’re going to be listening for a report of a stolen car. You’ll give them that, and you’re driving the car to the Hale house. Lydia’s going to follow you and drive you back to my house. They won’t find the car there for at least a few hours, and that buys us time. They’ll be looking for Allison to be driving Harris’ car, not Melissa’s. I already figured out that they’re not monitoring everything as heavily as I thought they were, two days ago. If they had been, we would have been in a lot more trouble on Monday. Now all we need to worry about is what the fuck they told Theo to do. My guess is that he has to steal something and he’ll get twenty-five thousand dollars.” He snorted. “These dares don’t read the same as the others. I think Danny must have been responsible for how the texts went out, and if he’s... unavailable... they’re stuck writing them on their own. Whoever they are.” 

***

Allison drove around the parking garage, looking for a spot that wasn’t covered by security cameras, before she ended up in a darkened spot on the third floor of the structure. She made a face as she walked around to the trunk and opened it. “Are you okay?” She fought back a laugh, but couldn’t quite contain it. “I’m sorry. I know it’s not funny, but I’m actually trying not to freak out. I don’t even cry when I’m scared, you know? I shouldn’t _want_ to laugh. I don’t know what we’re going to find in here. I’m not even sure I’m supposed to bring you with me, and I can’t call Stiles to ask him, because he’s got me paranoid that people are listening to everything I'm saying, even right now.” 

“I’m not letting you go in there by yourself.” Scott protested. “Okay, and part of it is that I’m not letting you leave me by myself.” 

Allison hiccupped another laugh, getting tears in her eyes. “What if my parents are really responsible for this?” She whispered. “What if we’re walking into a room with a firing squad?” 

“Then we’ll die together.” Scott shrugged. “Allison, it’s going to be okay. No matter what happens.” 

“Okay.” Allison sighed. She kissed Scott, then reached for his hand. “Come on, I’ll take a picture of the entrance to the building. That should be enough proof for them that I’m here.” She was quiet as they walked, the sound of her boots on the pavement making her nervous. Everything seemed to echo. She glanced at the elevator, then shook her head. “We’ll take the stairs, okay? Oh, but... your asthma.” 

“I’m fine.” Scott smiled. “I’m not going to run to get there, anyway." He lifted his phone at the sound of an error buzzer, looking at the red skull and crossbones image on the screen. When he tried to open the app, it wouldn’t load. “I’m out of the game.” He murmured. “I really hope they don’t take my motorbike.” He paused. “I also hope they don’t kill me.” 

Allison stopped on the landing and opened her own app. “Stiles and Theo are still in. Whatever they’ve asked Theo to do, he’s got until three o’clock in the morning. It’s already ten. Wait. He’s got thirty thousand dollars, so he completed his dare. And so did Stiles, so they didn’t even check the files. They just took them.” 

“Okay, I’m not the guy with ideas, the way Stiles is.” Scott scratched the back of his neck. “But I think you should call Lydia and just ask her what Stiles has to do. Tell her you just completed your dare and you’re waiting for the next one. It’s a normal conversation, you know? It would probably be weird for you not to call.” 

“Right.” Allison sat down on the stairs and called Lydia. “Hey! I finally made it to the San Francisco branch. I just wanted to let you know that I got here safely. How is Scott? Does he miss me?” 

“Of course he misses you.” Lydia answered, catching on right away. “He’s been driving us nuts here tonight. First, he wanted to help decorate for the party, then he started moping and saying how much he wished you were here and had dropped out of the game with him.”

“Aww.” Allison cooed. “Well, we’ll have plenty of chances to go to parties together when I win this thing in June. I saw that Theo and Stiles are still in. I guess they got their next dares? I don’t have mine yet. Hopefully soon. I don’t want them to get too far ahead of me.” She stood up, motioning for Scott to stay a few steps behind her, to make sure that both of their footsteps wouldn’t be heard over the phone. “Do you know what they’re doing?” 

“Yeah.” Lydia took on a bored tone. “Stiles has to walk around town until sunrise. He started an hour ago. He’s allowed to take one five minute break every ninety minutes. It’s really cold out tonight, and he was already exhausted. I hate this game.” 

“You sound pissed.” Allison commented, her breath catching in her throat. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something was about to go horribly wrong. 

“I am.” Lydia murmured. “I’m already sick of waiting for these idiots to realize that Stiles played them. We know where Derek is, we know what happened to Laura, and we know they have Danny. If anything happens to Scott now that he’s out of the game, Stiles is going to his dad and I’m telling Jackson everything. And his dad. The district attorney.” Her bored tone had given way to one of unbridled anger. “And anyone and everyone that ever had something to do with this is going to prison. I have to go. It’s getting close to Stiles’ first break, and he said he would meet me at the diner.” She hung up. 

“Scott? I think we’re in trouble.” Allison gulped. She turned to face him, her eyes widening at the sight of Scott standing perfectly still. Allison’s Aunt Kate stood behind him, her gun pointed at the back of his head. 

“You really are, sweetie.” Kate shook her head slightly. “Go ahead and walk the rest of the way down the stairs, then across the walkway, to the building. Don’t try to run or I’ll have to kill your boyfriend, and he seems too cute to be a corpse.” 

“Okay.” Allison murmured. “But I’m still in the game, right? I can take a picture of the door and prove that I’m here?” 

Kate laughed, delighted. “Competitive! Good for you. Sure, you can do that.” 

Allison sighed in relief. “Thanks, Aunt Kate.” She murmured. The walk to the front door of the building felt like it took forever, and Allison snapped a photo of the door and submitted it, then started a live broadcast and held her phone down at her side, opening the door for Scott and Kate. She followed them in, then nodded and smiled apologetically when her aunt yelled at her to move back into the front position of their little parade. She tried to stay calm until they walked through the office area and she saw a guard opening a freezer door. Derek and Danny were inside, along with a girl her own age that Allison didn’t recognize. She burst into tears, more than she would have normally, hoping that the audio was picked up clearly on the broadcast. She wasn’t sure if Stiles or Lydia were watching, but she figured Erica must be. “What is this?” Allison demanded. “You can’t keep us in there!” 

“Not you, just your boyfriend.” Kate attempted to assure Allison. 

“No!” Allison wailed, not needing to fake it at all. “Scott has severe asthma. He can’t be in extremely cold temperatures like that, he’s already got it bad enough in winter on a normal day. You’ll kill him.” Her sobs died in her throat as her aunt glanced at Scott, then shrugged at Allison. 

“I’m okay with that.” Kate motioned with her gun. “Go on, Scott. When you’re in there, wheezing your way through your prayers? Tell God that your best friend is the reason you’re about to die.” 

“You’re wrong about that.” Stiles called out from behind Kate. “Put the gun down, kick it over to me, and put your hands up.” 

“I am so glad to see you!” Scott blurted. 

“Me too, Scotty.” Stiles smiled, not taking his eyes off of Kate Argent. “But stay over there for another minute or two, okay? I’ll hug you when this is over.” 

“It’s cool, I can wait.” Scott agreed. 

“Let everyone else out.” Stiles told the guard. “We had a deal.” 

“What?” Kate blurted. “What deal?” 

“You know, something about you giving me thirty thousand dollars that I realized I don’t want or need. I promised the guards ten thousand apiece to let everyone go, but I said they had to wait until you got here because it just wouldn’t be as satisfying, otherwise. The freezer’s been off since before I got here.” Stiles waited, the borrowed gun from the guard trained on Kate, as Derek walked outside with Cora and Danny. Once the radio he had clipped to his belt crackled, letting him know that everyone was safe, Stiles smiled coldly. He yelled, “I said stay back!” Immediately afterward, he shot Kate in the forehead. 

Allison screamed and turned away, bursting into tears as Scott put his arms around her. 

Stiles set the gun on the floor as the police came in, arresting the guards. 

“Hey, kid!” The guard who had willingly handed his gun over to Stiles yelled. “You said we had a deal!”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Stiles shook his head. “I’m not old enough to even think about touching a gun. If you did give me one, that would be contributing to the delinquency of a minor. And if, let’s say, I shot someone and killed them? Even if it was self-defense, you’d be an accessory to murder.” 

Scott waited patiently while he, Stiles and Allison gave their statements to the police and watched as Kate’s body was taken away. When they were escorted to their car in the parking garage, Scott finally turned to Stiles and spoke. “You’re going to tell me everything, aren’t you?” 

“Yeah. Tomorrow, after I’ve managed to get some sleep.” Stiles muttered. “I can get a ride back with you guys, right? I didn’t drive here.” 

“How did you get here faster than us, then?” Scott looked puzzled. 

“I took a helicopter.” Stiles said lightly. “Honestly Scott, the things I have to explain to you...” He laughed, hugging Scott. It hadn’t escaped his attention that Allison was avoiding even looking at him. He hoped she would forgive him in time. “Let me tell them that I don’t need a ride back, since I’m going with you guys.” He ran off toward the elevator. 

“I can call him and tell him to just get a ride back on his own.” Scott offered. 

“No, it’s okay.” Allison muttered. “I just want to go home.” She hesitated. “You know what? I think I’ll take the helicopter. It’s my dad’s, anyway.” She kissed Scott softly and ran for the stairs. 

Scott watched her go as he called Stiles. “Tell them that Allison’s getting a ride with them, okay?” 

“On it.” Stiles hung up. A few minutes later, the elevator doors opened and he walked back over to Melissa’s car. “I bet you have a lot of questions.” 

“I do, yeah.” Scott agreed. 

“It’s going to kill you to wait until tomorrow, isn’t it?” Stiles smiled. 

“Yes!” Scott blurted. “Tell me everything right now, damn it.” 

***

Stiles looked around at everyone gathered in his living room. “One more time?” He asked Scott. 

“Yeah, from the beginning.” Scott nodded. “I still think you’re crazy, by the way.” 

“Well, somebody has to be.” Stiles muttered. “I had already put together all the information I told you guys I was going to, last night. That’s one of the things that kept me up most of Thursday night. And Wednesday night.” He admitted. “I gave it to my dad yesterday morning, and I told him that I suspected that Danny was involved.” He glanced at Danny. “Which you were, so I was right. Anyway, my dad was already checking up on Danny and found out that he hadn’t come to school. He checked at Danny’s house to see if he was home, and found out he wasn’t. That was just during first period. Derek had rented a motel room, but he hadn’t checked out and his stuff was still in the office at the motel when Tara checked it out. That’s one of the deputies. My dad’s next stop was the Argent house, where he presented the evidence of Argent residences with disappearances of people involved in the game. He asked if anyone connected to Argent Industries was living here in Beacon Hills at the time of the Hale house catching on fire, and it turned out that Gerard and Kate lived here, then.” 

“And that was enough cause to call the San Francisco PD and tell them to get a warrant, to search the property. It was kind of a long shot, but it made the most sense, of all of the offices.” Noah continued where Stiles had left off. “But Stiles, this had better be the first and last time you do this kind of work without a license to carry and a badge, you hear me?” 

“Loud and clear.” Stiles nodded. 

Lydia and Erica exchanged wry smiles, but neither of them spoke. 

Stiles yawned. “Anyway, I just gave a copy of the files - and a bunch of pieces of paper with Mr. Yuck faces - to whoever was gathering things for Kate and Gerard. The sedative wasn’t even for you guys, by the way.” He told Derek, Danny and Cora. “Gerard wanted it because he’s in a lot of pain. He’s got stage four liver cancer.” 

“It couldn’t have happened to a nicer guy.” Cora muttered. 

Stiles laughed, startled. “Yeah, well, I had Theo walking around town with my cell phone, as a way to make it up to me that he had come over to murder me.” 

Theo blinked, holding his hands up defensively. “I was never going to do it, I just wanted to know why they wanted you dead.” 

“Well, the good news is that Argent Industries is giving scholarships to almost all of us, and a bunch of other people, besides. And this September, they’re going to have a challenge competition, completely legally, to award five scholarships to anyone who meets their criteria by the end of the semester. It’s mostly just writing essays or doing well athletically, or both?” Stiles glanced at Allison for confirmation, sighing when she nodded and looked away from him again. His gaze fell on Derek, and turned toward Lydia, biting his lip. “Um, I don’t mean to be a complete asshole...” He murmured. 

“But get out?” Lydia finished, smiling. “Okay, we’ll go.” She started ushering people down the stairs and outside. “Leave him alone, he needs to sleep.” She commanded, leaving Stiles and Derek alone in the living room. 

“You shouldn’t have gotten involved in this.” Derek muttered. 

“Wow, that’s a lot of syllables for ‘thank you.’” Stiles retorted. “And you’re welcome, by the way. It’s your fault for kissing me, you know? I wouldn’t have been looking for you if I didn’t want some answers.” 

“It was a dare!” Derek protested, smiling. 

“Oh, was that all?” Stiles snorted. “Then I dare you to kiss me right n-” He blinked, lifting his hands to rest on Derek’s shoulders as he kissed back, closing his eyes. He felt Derek’s hands resting on his waist and smiled against his mouth. When they pulled back to each catch their breath, Stiles grinned. “I dare you to do that thirty more times.” 

“Only thirty?” Derek teased. 

“Thirty’s a good number. Thirty helped me find you.” Stiles insisted. “Fine. I dare you to go with me to the winter formal.” 

“I’d rather be stuck in a freezer.” Derek said dryly. 

“I dare you to stay here with me and play video games instead of going to the winter formal?” Stiles gave Derek a hopeful smile. “But you have to dance with me at least twice that night.” 

Instead of telling his boyfriend that he was an idiot, Derek decided a better move would be to lean toward him and kiss him again. So he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, that's the end... of this fic, at least.


End file.
